Indices of Systemic Inflammation Are Raised in Patients With Psoriasis

Markers of systemic inflammation are increased in patients with psoriasis and positively correlated with disease severity, according to a study published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology.

In a case control study, researchers evaluated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in chronic plaque psoriasis to determine whether they were altered and if the values correlated with disease severity. The study included 45 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 45 control subjects. Patient history and clinical and blood examinations were collected from the study participants and the results examined using statistical analyses.

Patients with psoriasis had higher neutrophil counts (62.95 ± 9.5 vs 59.74 ± 8.12, P = .03), lymphocyte counts (31.49 ± 8.18 vs 34.78 ± 7.43, P = .04), NLR (2.06 vs 1.71, P = .04), and CRP (7.20 vs 2.70, P < .01) compared with the control subjects. NLR and PLR were positively correlated with psoriasis severity, but only NLR was statistically significant.

“We concluded that such easily available and low-cost indices of systemic inflammation are raised in psoriasis patients and are positively correlated with the severity of involvement,” wrote the study authors. “They can thus not only be used to monitor the effect of systemic drugs in psoriasis,” they added.

Reference
Mondal S, Guha S, Saha A, Ghoshal L, Bandyopadhyay D. Evaluation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in chronic plaque psoriasis. Indian J Dermatol. 2022;67(4):477. doi:10.4103/ijd.ijd_935_21