Frequency Of Nail Changes In Patients With Psoriasis At Tertiary Care Hospital Peshawar

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease that affects about 2% of the world population. The disease is caused by genetic and environmental factors, and its exact pathogenesis is still unclear. To determine the frequency of nail changes in patients with psoriasis, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, from March 2021 to September 2021. A total of 126 patients with psoriatic nail changes were examined using a consecutive non-probability sampling technique. The mean age of the patients was 43.36 ± 12.03 SD, with the majority falling into the age group of 51-60 years. Female patients (51.6%) were more common than male patients (48.4%). The patients were divided into two groups based on the duration of the disease, with 65.1% having psoriasis for more than 6 months. Fingernails were affected more commonly (68.3%) than toe nails (31.7%). The most common nail finding was pitting (24.6%), followed by onycholysis (19.8%) and subungual hyperkeratosis (19.8%). Ridges were observed in only 1.6% of the patients. The duration of psoriasis was significantly higher in patients with psoriatic nail changes. In conclusion, pitting was the most common nail abnormality observed in psoriatic patients, and the duration of the disease was an important factor in the development of nail changes.