A small study shows that ultrasound may be a viable diagnostic tool to determine whether patients have psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, Italian researchers report.

For some patients with psoriasis, inflammation can extend beyond the usual skin flare-ups. It can also affect tendons and bones sometimes leading to structural abnormalities, such as thickening of tendons at the insertion site. This abnormality can be detectable by ultrasound which can confirm a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, or not.