Question

While evaluating a patient with psoriasis vulgaris, the nurse practitioner expects to find:

a) Lichenification in the post-auricular region.
b) Maculopapular lesions over the upper thorax.
c) Scaling lesions within the nasolabial folds.
d) Well-demarcated plaques and coalescing papules on the knees.

Answer 1

In psoriasis vulgaris, nurse practitioners usually find well-demarcated plaques and coalescing papules on the knees
(option d), reflecting the disease's characteristic thick, red skin patches with silvery scales from abnormal skin cell turnover.

Step-by-step explanation:

When evaluating a patient with psoriasis vulgaris, the nurse practitioner expects to find well-demarcated plaques and coalescing papules on the knees. Psoriasis is characterized by itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales, typically found on elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms, and feet. It is a skin disease involving abnormal skin cell turnover and can be associated with joint inflammation in the form of psoriatic arthritis.

It results from a complex interplay between skin cells (keratinocytes), immune cells (dendritic cells, T cells), and the cytokines they produce. Option d) well-demarcated plaques and coalescing papules on the knees is most consistent with the typical presentation of psoriasis vulgaris, as it features the classic plaques commonly associated with the condition.