PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS: EARLY DIAGNOSIS

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous disease that can involve a variety of distinct anatomical sites including a patient's peripheral and axial joints, entheses, skin and nails. Appropriate management of PsA requires early diagnosis, monitoring of disease activity. To accomplish the former there are a variety of PsA-specific tools available to screen, diagnose, and assess patients. Including the Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (TOPAS), the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST), the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening and Evaluation (PASE), and the Psoriasis and Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (PASQ). Screening and early diagnosis of PsA in patients with psoriasis: In the absence of timely diagnosis and treatment of PSA in patients with psoriasis, the risk of disease progression and the development of functional disorders increases. In some studies, 47% of PsA patients were found to have joint erosions 2 years after the onset. Early detection of psoriatic arthritis (PSA) remains a challenge in clinical practice. Tools such as screening questionnaires have been developed for this purpose. Several patient-filled tools are currently available for PSA screening, including the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Assessment. [1,4,6]