Acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau (ACH) is a rare chronic inflammatory skin disease. Treatment is extremely challenging and mostly based on empirics as there is only scarce evidence from case reports and few small case series. In this retrospective study, patients with ACH treated at five university medical centers were analyzed according to patient and disease characteristics and treatment experience. We identified 39 patients with ACH with a mean age of 54.4 years at onset, of whom 22 (56.4%) were female. A total of 115 systemic treatment courses were analyzed with methotrexate as the most common therapy (27.0%). Overall, effectiveness of systemic treatments was low (excellent response rate: 14.8%). Among non‐biologics, excellent response was noted in 21.1% (4/19) of treatment courses with methotrexate, followed by acitretin (13.3%; 2/15). Among biologics, guselkumab (excellent response: 100%; 2/2), secukinumab (excellent response: 42.9%; 3/7) and adalimumab (excellent response: 20.0%; 2/10) were most efficacious. The median drug survival was 7.0 months and did not differ significantly between the subgroup of non‐biologic and biologic therapies. To our knowledge, this is the largest case series in ACH investigating patient characteristics and treatment outcomes. Based on our treatment experience, we suggest a treatment algorithm starting with acitretin or methotrexate as first‐line therapy, followed by biologics. Cyclosporin may be used for short‐term control. However, none of the applied systemic therapies yielded satisfying efficacy in our cohort. In patients with primary non‐response, switch of treatment should be evaluated timely on an individual basis, considering possible irreversible disease complications such as nail loss. More research with prospective design is needed to further evaluate traditional and also particularly newer antipsoriatic drugs in ACH.
The prevalence of IBD in psoriasis was approximately 4 times higher than that in the general population, with the highest risk for psoriasis-PsA patients. Psoriasis-CD patients have a mild (early-onset) psoriasis but an earlier-onset and severe CD-phenotype.
Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening inflammatory skin disease. Our aim was to assess patient and disease characteristics and analyze drug survival rates in the treatment of GPP in a real-life setting. In this retrospective study, 201 treatment series of 86 patients with GPP treated at five University Medical Centers were analyzed. Overall, excellent response was reached in 41.3% of all treatment courses, partial response in 31.4%, and nonresponse in 27.3%. Biological treatment was significantly more effective than non-biological therapies (excellent response: 47.4% vs 35.9%; P = .02). Overall, the median drug survival was 14.0 months (biologicals: 36.0 months vs nonbiologicals: 6.0 months; P < .001). The crude probability of survival was highest for secukinumab (hazard ratio [HR] of drug discontinuation compared with acitretin: 0.22), followed by ixekizumab and ustekinumab (HR: 0.38 each), adalimumab (HR: 0.59), etanercept (HR: 0.62), infliximab (HR: 0.69), cyclosporine (HR: 1.00), acitretin (reference for HR), fumaric acid esters (HR: 1.06), methotrexate (HR: 1.26), and apremilast (HR: 3.44); no drug discontinuation with guselkumab. Our results reveal high efficacy and drug survival, particularly for IL-17 and IL-(12)/23 antagonists. Thus, these biologics may be considered early in the therapeutic algorithm of GPP.
Summary
Background and Objectives
Depression is a highly prevalent comorbidity in psoriatic patients. The aim of this prospective study was to follow up psoriasis patients at risk for depression and to evaluate individual pathways to mental health care and the efficacy of depression screening in a real‐life setting.
Patients and Methods
In this prospective multicenter study, 355 patients with psoriasis were screened for depressive symptoms with the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI‐II). General practitioners of patients at risk for depression were asked for further evaluation. One year later, information on mental health care provision was gathered.
Results
130 patients were screened positive for depressive symptoms, and 71 patients were followed‐up (follow‐up rate: 54.6 %). Psychiatric treatment was recommended for 28.2 % and accepted by 23.9 % of patients. Parameters of disease activity of psoriasis (PASI: 3.1, ∆: –1.7, P = 0.018), quality of life (Dermatology Life Quality Index [DLQI]: 6.5, ∆: –2.8, P = 0.005), and depressive symptoms (BDI‐II: 13.2, ∆: –8.3, P < 0.001) improved significantly. Decrease of the BDI‐II score was more pronounced in patients with higher PASI decrease.
Conclusions
Screening for depressive symptoms led to increased utilization of mental health care and improvement of psoriasis, depressive symptoms, and quality of life. Thus, such screening should be implemented in routine care to optimize patient management.
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