Tonsillectomy may benefit tonsillitis-associated psoriasis

(HealthDay)—For patients with recalcitrant psoriasis associated with episodes of tonsillitis, tonsillectomy may be an option that can result in improvement in psoriasis, according to a review published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Tara D. Rachakonda, M.D., from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine whether tonsillectomy reduces psoriasis severity. Data were included from 20 articles from the last 53 years, which involved 545 psoriasis patients who were assessed for or underwent tonsillectomy.

The researchers found that 290 of the 410 patients with psoriasis who underwent tonsillectomy experienced improvement in their psoriasis. Some patients who underwent tonsillectomy experienced sustained improvement in psoriasis, while others experienced relapse after tonsillectomy.

"At the current time, clinicians need to evaluate patients on an individual basis and reserve tonsillectomy for patients with recalcitrant and recurrent psoriasis exacerbations clearly associated with chronic tonsillitis," the authors write. "Controlled studies with long-term follow-up are necessary to determine the precise impact of tonsillectomy on psoriasis severity and recurrence and to characterize the type of patients most likely to benefit from this procedure."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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