Clinical, power Doppler sonography and histological assessment of the psoriatic plaque: short-term monitoring in patients treated with etanercept

Abstract

Background: To date, the diagnosis of psoriasis is based on both clinical history and physical examination, and its severity is assessed by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Continuous technological advances in the field of sonography have led to the development of equipment with high power Doppler frequency, which allows for very detailed morphological information regarding the dermal blood flow.

Objectives: To compare power Doppler sonography (PDS) with clinical and histological findings before and after etanercept treatment in patients with psoriasis.

Methods: Twelve patients with a clinical diagnosis of psoriasis were enrolled in this study. The PASI, PDS and histological examinations were assessed in all patients on the same day at baseline, and after 12 weeks of biological treatment. PDS examination was performed by an experienced sonographer, using a sonographic system equipped with transducer ranging from 6 to 18 MHz and Doppler frequency ranging from 7 to 14 MHz.

Results: At follow up there was a significant decrease in PASI. A significant change was also detected for the PDS findings (P = 0·005). At baseline the median value for factor VIII staining was 1·5, and the median value for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) staining was also 1·5. At follow up there was a significant decrease in both factor VIII and VEGF staining scores. Moreover, a positive correlation between reduction in PDS score and improvement in clinical and histological scores was found: Spearman's ρ = 0·639, P = 0·0022; Spearman's ρ = 0·619, P = 0·0013; Spearman's ρ = 0·765, P = 0·0002, respectively.

Conclusions: Our results show a significant correlation between PDS findings and both PASI and histological degree of vascularization before and after etanercept treatment. These data provide evidence in favour of the validity of PDS in the assessment of dermal perfusional changes in patients with psoriatic plaques.