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The prevalence and clinical features of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in psoriasis patients vary widely in different countries, and studies on Korean population are rarely reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of PsA in a Korean population of patients with psoriasis by using psoriatic arthritis screening questionnaires. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted, and consecutive psoriatic patients were evaluated for PsA by using two kinds of psoriatic arthritis screening questionnaires: Psoriatic Arthritis Screening and Evaluation tool (PASE) and Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST). Psoriatic patients with higher score in screening questionnaires were referred to rheumatologist for confirmative diagnosis of PsA. Among 196 psoriasis patients screened by PASE and PEST, total prevalence of PsA was 11.2 % ( n = 22/196) with 59.1 % of the cases being newly diagnosed. Compared with patients without PsA, patients with PsA had more extensive psoriasis, higher frequency of pustular and inverse type of psoriasis, and lower frequency of plaque type of psoriasis. Spondylitis was the most common manifestation pattern, followed by polyarthritis, oligoarthritis, predominant distal interphalangeal arthritis, and arthritis mutilans. Our findings are consistent with a low prevalence of PsA among patients with psoriasis in Asia. We also confirm a spondylitis as the most common pattern of PsA in Korea. PsA screening questionnaires can be a simple and useful tool to screen PsA in patients with psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutaneous vasculitis can be limited to skin or a manifestation of primary systemic vasculitis. However, there are no definite markers to predict systemic involvements. Recent studies have shown that a higher red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with disease activity in various disorders. We evaluated whether RDW can be used as an indicator for predicting systemic disease in patients with initial cutaneous involvements. We reviewed clinical and laboratory information of 143 patients with cutaneous vasculitis and 15 pigmented purpuric dermatosis patients seen at single academic hospital in Korea. Various parameters, including RDW, were evaluated in patients with primary cutaneous vasculitis and primary systemic vasculitis with initial cutaneous manifestations. The RDW value between cutaneous and systemic vasculitis patients was compared and RDW level was also investigated whether it can indicate systemic vasculitis in patients with cutaneous involvements. The mean age was 32.0 years, and 102 (64.6 %) patients were female. A total of 132 patients were patients with primary cutaneous vasculitis, and 11 were primary systemic vasculitis. Higher ratio of patients with high RDW was detected in systemic vasculitis group compared with cutaneous vasculitis group (36.4 vs. 7.6 %, P < 0.05). The mean RDW was significantly higher in systemic vasculitis patients ( P < 0.05). RDW had the strongest association with systemic vasculitis ( P < 0.05, OR 1.834). In conclusion, elevated level of RDW was significantly associated with systemic vasculitis. RDW can be used as one of the marker to predict systemic disease in patients with cutaneous vasculitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]