Can CRP and ESR values may be influenced by rehabilitation therapy in patients with psoriatic arthritis?

Abstract

Objective. Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis that is linked to psoriasis and affects 20 to 30 percent of those who have it. Clinical symptoms vary and can change over time as one articular pattern evolves into another. This condition has a significant financial and psychological cost attached to it, not to mention the mental state of the patient in relation to the disease. Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are frequently used in primary care to diagnose and monitor inflammatory illnesses such as infections, autoimmune diseases, and malignancies. Our main goal was to see whether or not there was a difference between inflammatory markers in patients with psoriatic arthritis who benefited balneotherapy and kinesiotherapy, compared to those who remained only on the fund treatment. Material and methods. We performed a comparative retrospective study regarding the evolution of 110 patients diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis who underwent or not a rehabilitation program that was performed in Rehabilitation Hospital Baile Felix. Outcomes. One of the results we wanted to demonstrate was whether this type of treatment influences the values of CRP and ESR, thus proving the benefits or disadvantages of this treatment. Conclusion. To answer the major question, rehabilitation therapy DOES influence the values of CRP and ESR values in patients with psoriatic arthritis in the sense of decreasing their values. The 2 week-long rehabilitation therapy was capable of reducing the inflammatory process, a conclusion indicated by the decreasing of CRP and ESR values (mean value difference p <0.001).