More effective psoriasis therapies may improve patient-reported outcomes

Greater use of effective psoriasis therapies can affect patient-reported outcomes and improve treatment satisfaction, according to a presenter at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology virtual congress.

“Patient satisfaction with treatment can provide insights into residual unmet needs,” Catherine Reed, of Eli Lilly and Company, and colleagues wrote. “Remaining burden or dissatisfaction can lead to suboptimal outcomes despite alternative treatment being available to treat psoriasis.”

To explore the associations between patient-reported satisfaction and current treatment, researchers evaluated data from the Psoriasis Adelphi Real-World Disease Specific Programme’s survey of dermatologists and their patients with psoriasis. Data included dermatologist forms on patient demographics, psoriasis severity and Physician Global Assessment as well as patient self-reports of treatment satisfaction, Dermatology Life Quality Index, EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and Work Productivity Activity Impairment questionnaire. Researchers also analyzed patient reports of psoriasis impact on sleep quality and itching.

Of 851 patients, 77% reported satisfaction with their current treatment while 23% reported dissatisfaction. Further analysis showed dissatisfied patients were more likely to have moderate to severe disease compared with satisfied patients (63.3% vs. 16.9%, P < .001) and more likely to be classified to not be in remission (76.9% vs. 34.7%, P < .001); dissatisfied patients also reported greater impact of itching (4.0 vs. 1.4, P < .001), impacted sleep quality (78.4% vs. 39.6%, P < .001), worse quality of life (DLQI: 10.5 vs. 2.8, P < .001; EQ-5D: 0.81 vs. 0.94, P < .001) and greater work impairment (38.8% vs. 11.7%, P < .001).

“Dissatisfied patients experienced a higher intensity and frequency of itching. ... A greater proportion of satisfied patients were currently receiving biologic treatment, whilst a greater proportion of dissatisfied patients were receiving topical treatment,” Reed and colleagues wrote. “Greater utilization of more effective therapies in resolving skin symptoms can impact [patient-reported outcomes] including itch and improve patient treatment satisfaction.”