Evaluating nail thickness and stiffness with shear-wave elastography in nail psoriasis: A preliminary study

Introduction Psoriasis is a chronic, relapsing skin disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Nail changes have been reported to occur in up to 40% of patients with mild psoriasis and 50%-70% with severe disease. Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is a new non-invasive ultrasonic technique that evaluates thickness and stiffness of tissues. Aims To evaluate nail plate thickness and stiffness of patients with psoriasis and determine whether there are differences among psoriatic patients with and without nail involvement, and to investigate the feasibility of using SWE in assessing this disease. Materials and Methods Nail plate thickness and stiffness were investigated in 54 patients with psoriasis and 58 healthy controls. SWE was performed with an Aplio 500 ultrasound system. Results Increased nail plate thickness was observed more often in the affected nails of psoriatic patients compared to non-affected nails of patients and controls. Stiffness was similar in both groups. Conclusions Our study is the first report to evaluate the SWE scores in nail psoriasis. While it may not provide reliable information for diagnosis, it can be used for follow-up treatment.