title: Myocardial scintigraphy - a method for detecting cardiac comorbidity in psoriasis patients?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, cardiac comorbidities in psoriasis patients have increasingly moved into the focus of clinical research. The objective of the present study was to evaluate myocardial scintigraphy as a screening method in patients with psoriasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Assessment of various comorbidities in 50 psoriasis patients without clinical symptoms of cardiac disease. Myocardial scintigraphy was employed to detect cardiac risk/exercise-induced ischemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight patients (56 %) had pathological findings on myocardial scintigraphy. Fourteen individuals showed evidence of small-vessel disease (cardiac syndrome X). Other comorbidities included obesity, arterial hypertension, nicotine and alcohol abuse, as well as elevated CRP levels. Frequencies largely corresponded to those reported in the recent literature. There was no significant correlation between the severity of psoriasis or any comorbidities and pathological findings on myocardial scintigraphy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myocardial scintigraphy seems to be a very sensitive, noninvasive method for the early detection of cardiac comorbidities in psoriasis patients. However, determining its true diagnostic value will require larger studies with control subjects and control methods such as coronary angiography.
authors: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Medical Center Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany. markus.zutt@klinikum-bremen-mitte.de.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Zutt
authors: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Medical Center Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany.
authors: Hagen
authors: H
authors: Rudolph
authors: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Medical Center Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany.
authors: Kjell Matthias
authors: KM
authors: Kaune
authors: Institute for Statistics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
authors: Werner
authors: W
authors: Wosniok
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany.
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Gärtner
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany.
authors: Rainer
authors: R
authors: Linke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055426:Cardiac-Gated Single-Photon Emission Computer-Assisted Tomography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017566:Microvascular Angina / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity