Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting approximately 1-6% of population in the world.
Aim of the work: To screen psoriatic patients for psoriatic arthritis [PsA] to improve optimal PsA management and outcome.
Patients and Methods: This study included one hundred and tow patients with psoriasis recruited from the dermatology outpatient clinics in Damietta, [Al-Azhar University Hospital, Dermatology and Leprosy Hospital and El-Maasarah Hospital]. Patients should fulfill a Simple Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Questionnaire [SiPAS] to calculate the prevalence of psoriatic arthritis among psoriatic patients in Damietta.
Results: The study included 42 [41.2%] females and 60 [58.8%] males with age range between 6 -88 years old with mean age 45 years old. Among the 102 included patients with psoriasis, 36 patients [35.3%] had score [≥3]; [63.9%] of them were men and [36.1%] were women with mean age 51 years old, mean age of onset of psoriasis 31 years old and mean duration of psoriasis 19.14 . [77.8%] of them had psoriatic nail lesions. On the other side, 66 patients [64.7%] had score [<3] with mean age 45.19 years old, mean age of onset of psoriasis 32 and mean duration of psoriasis 9 years.
Conclusion: Early diagnosis of PsA could prevent permanent joint damage or spinal fusion and could improve long-term patient outcome. The SiPAS questionnaire can be a powerful tool to help dermatologists to quickly screen PsA during their clinical practice. The SiPAS questionnaire is able to quickly screen psoriasis patients for PsA. A SiPAS score ≥3 is an indication for referral to a rheumatologist.