Nail psoriasis and nail lichen planus: Updates on diagnosis and management

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory diseases of the nail, including nail psoriasis and nail lichen planus, are associated with significant disease burden and have a negative impact on quality of life. Diagnosis is often delayed, especially when patients present without cutaneous findings. Therefore, recognizing clinical signs and symptoms of inflammatory nail diseases, and initiating timely and appropriate treatment, is of utmost importance.

Objective: We review recent studies on diagnostic techniques, discuss severity grading and scoring systems, and describe consensus treatment recommendations for nail psoriasis and nail lichen planus.

Methods: An updated literature review was performed using the PubMed database on studies assessing diagnostic techniques or treatment modalities for nail psoriasis and nail lichen planus.

Results: Recent studies on diagnostic techniques for inflammatory nail disease have focused on use of dermoscopy, capillaroscopy, and ultrasound modalities. Treatment of these conditions is dichotomized into involvement of few (≤3) or many (>3) nails. Recent psoriatic therapeutics studied for nail outcomes include brodalumab, tildrakizumab, risankizumab, deucravacitinib, and bimekizumab, while emerging treatments for nail lichen planus include JAK inhibitors and intralesional platelet rich plasma injections.

Conclusions: We emphasize the need for increased awareness and expanded management strategies for inflammatory nail diseases to improve patient outcomes.

Keywords: inflammatory; lichen planus; nail; nail diseases; psoriasis.