We then identified a subset of patients (N = 12,857) who were likely on the same biologic medication for at least 12 months to look at prescriptions for concomitant psoriasis medications written during the period of treatment with a biologic medication. In this subset of patients, 6174 (48.0%) were female with a mean age of 47.6 yrs (SD: 13.7) and a median follow-up time of 4.1 years (IQR: 2.5 – 6.1). Patients had lower rates of medical comorbidities as compared to the index population, with the exception of psoriatic arthritis. There were 6150 individuals who received a prescription for adalimumab (47.8%), 5045 (39.2%) for etanercept, 1618 (12.6%) for ustekinumab, 778 (6.1%) for infliximab, and 224 (1.7%) for secukinumab. Because ixekizumab was FDA approved for psoriasis in March 2016, it was excluded from this analysis due to the small number of prescription episodes available (N = 4).
In patients prescribed biologic therapy, almost two thirds received a new prescription for a topical medication, the majority of which were prescriptions for topical steroids (Table 4). About 10% of patients received a prescription for a vitamin D analog and 5% for a calcineurin inhibitor. The rate of topical prescriptions was similar among the different biologic medications. The mean number of prescriptions written annually did not vary significantly among the various biologic therapies (data not shown). Excluding topical prescriptions written within the first 6 months of the initial biologic prescription decreased the percent of people who received a prescription; however, 48.7-60.7% of
In patients prescribed biologic therapy, almost two thirds received a new prescription for a topical medication, the majority of which were prescriptions for topical steroids (Table 4). About 10% of patients received a prescription for a vitamin D analog and 5% for a calcineurin inhibitor. The rate of topical prescriptions was similar among the different biologic medications. The mean number of prescriptions written annually did not vary significantly among the various biologic therapies (data not shown). Excluding topical prescriptions written within the first 6 months of the initial biologic prescription decreased the percent of people who received a prescription; however, 48.7-60.7% of
