Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organ systems and is characterized by skin and joint manifestations. PsA is frequently undiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed, especially because of the similarities in clinical presentation shared with other arthritic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). An accurate and timely diagnosis of PsA is crucial to prevent delays in optimal treatment, which can lead to irreversible joint damage and increased functional disability. Patients are usually seen by a number of different healthcare providers on their path to a diagnosis of PsA, including advanced practice providers (APPs). This review provides a comprehensive overview of the characteristic features that can be used to facilitate the differentiation of PsA from RA and OA. Detailed information on clinical manifestations, biomarkers, radiologic features, and therapeutic recommendations for PsA included here can be applied in routine clinical settings to provide APPs with the confidence and knowledge to recognize and refer patients more accurately to rheumatologists for management of patients with PsA.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by psoriatic skin and nail changes, peripheral joint inflammation, enthesitis, dactylitis, and/or axial involvement, either alone or in combination with each other. The presence of axial involvement has been shown to be a marker of PsA severity; however, there is no widely accepted definition of axial involvement in PsA (axPsA) or consensus on how or when to screen and treat patients with suspected axPsA. Chronic back pain is a prominent feature of axPsA and is thought to have a relevant role in early identification of disease. Chronic back pain can be caused by inflammatory back pain (IBP) or mechanical back pain (MBP). However, MBP can complicate recognition of IBP and Digital Features To view digital features for this article go to