Clinical Characteristics of Severe and Non-Severe Peripheral Psoriatic Arthritis

According to a study published in Rheumatology and Therapy, patients with severe psoriatic arthritis (PsA) had more disease activity, pain, and impact of disease than patients with non-severe PsA.

Researchers aimed to define the clinical characteristics of patients with severe peripheral PsA and to differentiate between severity and disease activity in PsA. A retrospective analysis of a longitudinal cohort comprising 177 patients with peripheral PsA was conducted. Severity was defined using the modified Composite Psoriatic Disease Activity Index (mCPDAI), with patients scoring 3 or higher in at least 1 domain considered to have severe PsA.

At baseline, 36.1% of patients were identified as severe according to mCPDAI criteria, with 10.1% still meeting the definition at the last follow-up. All patients identified as severe at the last follow-up were male, and they exhibited worse outcomes in disease activity, pain, function, and impact of disease compared to patients with non-severe PsA. Male sex and severity of skin involvement at baseline were associated with the presence of severe PsA. However, the agreement between severe PsA and the absence of minimal disease activity was only slight.

“Furthermore, we demonstrated that severity and disease activity are not interchangeable concepts,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Lubrano E, Scriffignano S, Perrotta FM. Clinical characteristics of "severe" peripheral psoriatic arthritis: a retrospective analysis of a longitudinal cohort. Rheumatol Ther. Published online April 9, 2024. doi:10.1007/s40744-024-00667-0