Onychomycosis in patients with psoriasis.

Area of Science:

• Mycology
• Dermatology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Nail involvement in psoriasis is common.
• Fungal infections of the nails (onychomycosis) can affect nail appearance and health.
• The interplay between psoriasis and fungal nail infections requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively investigate the frequency and types of fungal nail infections in patients with and without psoriasis.
• To compare fungal infection rates in normal nails, psoriatic nails without involvement, and psoriatic nails with involvement.
• To determine if psoriasis influences the prevalence of specific fungal pathogens in the nails.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study design involving dermatological out-patients.
• Direct microscopic examination and fungal culture of fingernail and toenail samples.
• Comparison of three matched groups: no psoriasis, psoriasis without nail involvement, and psoriasis with nail involvement.

Main Results:

• Dermatophytic nail infections occurred in 10% of controls, 13% of psoriasis patients without nail involvement, and 13% of psoriasis patients with nail involvement.
• Yeast infections occurred in 10% of controls, 10% of psoriasis patients without nail involvement, and 15% of psoriasis patients with nail involvement.
• No statistically significant differences were found in the overall frequencies of dermatophytic infections between the groups.

Conclusions:

• Dermatophytic fungal infections of psoriatic nails are not as rare as previously thought.
• Yeast infections appear to be more prevalent in psoriatic nails with involvement compared to uninvolved or normal nails.
• Further research is warranted to understand the specific relationship between psoriasis and yeast colonization of the nails.