Involvement of high‐mobility group box‐1 and Dermoscopy in diagnosis of psoriasis severity.

Background/Objectives: The diagnosis of psoriasis is usually established on clinical grounds but there is lacking of such diagnostic tools to stratify its severity. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of skin, nails, and joints. Dermoscopy represent a novel diagnostic tool to diagnose and assess psoriasis severity. The main purpose of this study is to assess the value of dermoscopy associated with serum level of high‐mobility group box‐1 level (HMGB‐1) in the diagnosis and stratification of psoriasis severity. Methods: This study included 60 Egyptians subdivided into two equal groups, psoriatic patients, and controls. All patients were subjected first to dermoscopic examination, and then we evaluated the serum levels of HMGB‐1 among all studied groups. Results: The level of HMGB‐1 increased in psoriatic patients than controls. There was significant difference between patients and controls in the serum levels of HMGB ‐1. There were also a positive significant correlation between HMGB‐1 and different stages of disease severity. There were also significant correlations between HMGB‐1 and specific dermoscopic findings like vascular pattern and vascular number, erythema grades as well as types of scales (Fine, coarse) and (Fine, thick). Conclusions: Dermoscopy and HMGB‐1 can be considered as a combined novel diagnostic tool for psoriasis severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]