Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Several studies have repeatedly described an increased risk of thrombotic complications in patients with severe psoriasis. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) is a viscoelastic hemostatic test that allows sophisticated in-vivo evaluation of hemostasis in whole blood samples. This study aimed to assess hemostatic changes in psoriatic patients using ROTEM. METHODS: This pilot, observational, prospective study included 62 patients with moderate and severe psoriasis and a control group of 61 healthy blood donors. Blood samples were tested using the ROTEM Gamma analyser (Pentapharm GmbH, Munich, Germany) with INTEM, EXTEM, and FIBTEM reagents. We measured clotting time (CT), clot formation time (CFT), maximum clot firmness (MCF), amplitude at 10 and 20 min post-CT (A10, A20) and alpha angle. RESULTS: The psoriatic patient group consisted of 31 men and 31 women, while the control group included 34 men and 27 women. Comparing patients with psoriasis and the control group, we identified statistically significant differences in the parameters: CT-EXTEM (74.8±1.4s vs. 69.7±1.4s; p < 0.05), MCF-EXTEM, A10-EXTEM, A20-EXTEM, CFT-INTEM, A10-INTEM, A20-INTEM, alfa-INTEM, CT-FIBTEM (67.3±1.2s vs. 62.8±1.2s; p < 0.05), CFT-FIBTEM and alfa-FIBTEM. CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, compared to the controls, patients with moderate to severe psoriasis exhibited a shift in hemostasis towards a procoagulant state in ROTEM analysis.