Ways to increase the effectiveness of treatment of psoriasis patients with dystrophic lesions of the nail plates

Abstract

Objective — to increase the effectiveness of treatment of psoriasis patients with degenerative changes in the nails, by including in the complex therapy of the topical drug Onychocid® Emtrix, aimed at restoring the integrity of the nail plates. Materials and methods. 38 patients with psoriasis and various forms of onychodystrophy (OD) were examined and treated. The effectiveness of therapy was evaluated based on the results of treatment of patients who were divided into two clinical groups — the main and the comparison ones. Patients in both groups received basic therapy. In addition, patients of the main group were prescribed a combined drug Onychocid® Emtrix, which was applied on the nail plates and under the tips of damaged nails once a day for 3 – 6 months. Results and discussion. Patients with psoriasis are diagnosed with dystrophic changes of nail plates of varying severity. OD of the fingers only was detected in 14 (36.8 %) patients; toes — in 5 (13.2 %); fingers and toes at the same time — in 19 (50.0 %) patients. As a result of complex treatment, in patients of the main group there was an early (already on the 2—4th week of use of the drug Onychocid® Emtrix) improvement of the appearance of deformed nails. After the course of treatment, these patients showed a positive clinical effect, i. e. decrease in thickness, normalization of density, color and structure of nail plates. At the same time, «significant improvement» and «improvement» were noted in 34 (89.5 %), «slight improvement» — in 3 (7.9 %), «no improvement» — in 1 (2.6 %) patients. Conclusions. Treatment of psoriasis patients with dystrophic nail lesions should be complex and focused, including the restoration of the integrity of the nail plates. The inclusion in the complex therapy of patients with psoriatic OD of the combined drug Onychocid® Emtrix increases the effectiveness of treatment, in particular, helps to restore the structure, shape, integrity, thickness and color of the nail plates.