Psoriasis Therapy and Infection: Realities and Myths
Next Steps in Derm and the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, in partnership with the Dermatology Education Foundation (DEF) and Physicians Resources, interviewed Dr. Ted Rosen, professor of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of dermatology service at Michael DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Rosen addresses the latest research on psoriasis therapies and the risk of infection. Should clinicians be concerned about a risk of serious infection? In what situations does Dr. Rosen recommend clinicians take extra caution when prescribing psoriasis therapies? Find out the answers to your questions – and your patients’ questions – about psoriasis therapy and infection.
Dr. Ted Rosen lectured on this and other topics at the recent DERM2022 NP/PA CME conference held July 28-31, 2022.
Further Reading
If you want to read more about psoriasis therapies, check out the following articles published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology:
New Biologics and Oral Drugs in Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Psoriasis is known to have no definitive cure, which is in common with other inflammatory disorders. Various treatment options are available, and they help in decreasing the disease activity and improving symptoms. These therapeutic agents are administered according to disease severity. The improvement is assessed by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), in which the appearance and extension of the lesions are taken into account. We searched for English-language literature regarding phase 2 and phase 3 trial drugs in the treatment of psoriasis in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, The Cochrane Library, and EBSCO, Clinicaltrials.gov. The keywords used include psoriasis, biologics, plaque psoriasis, systemic treatments, IL17 inhibitors, phase 2 trial, JAK inhibitor, and IL12/23 inhibitors. The search included only articles published in English.
Unmet Needs in Psoriasis Patients
ABSTRACT
Background: Psoriasis can greatly impact patients’ quality of life. The introduction of new treatments has improved treatment outcomes, but treatment gaps may still exist.
Objective: Identify unmet treatment needs in patients with psoriasis.
Methods: Participants aged 18 years or older, with an Amazon Mechanical Turk account, who reported diagnosis of psoriasis and correctly answered an attention check question were included. Results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Of the 417 participants who met study inclusion criteria, 51.1% were female, and 39.3% were 31-40 years of age; 61.2% reported mild, 25.4% moderate, and 13.4% severe psoriasis. Most (74.8%) were currently under treatment; half (51.6%) were mostly or completely satisfied with treatment, while 24.5% were slightly or not at all satisfied. Respondents were most satisfied with topical (59.5%), followed by oral (46%), and injectable treatments (19.9%). Most (78.7%) slightly or strongly felt there should be more cost-effective options. Gaps in current psoriasis treatment options included more affordable topical and oral treatments that work faster and require less frequent use.
Limitations: The use of an English survey and Amazon Mechanical Turk precludes certain populations from this study. Participants were not asked to provide their current form of psoriasis treatment.
Conclusions: Despite advances in psoriasis treatment, there remains a desire for more effective, faster, longer acting, and less costly, more accessible treatments.
