Regarding body surface area reduction, symptoms, and impacted special body areas, researchers found there was an unmet need in the effectiveness of topical treatment for mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis. Researchers assessed clinical characteristics of patients in the United States with systemic-naïve mild to moderate psoriasis following use of topical therapy. A total of 304 patients were included in the study, with a median age of 43 years and were 53.6% women. The mean time since diagnosis was 60.9 months. It was found that 14.5% of patients reached ≥75% body surface area (BSA) reduction, 38.9% reached ≥50% BSA reduction, and 50.2% saw no BSA reduction following a mean of 6.9 months on their existing topical therapy. Scaling, inflamed skin, and itching were the residual psoriasis symptoms, and the majority of the patients experienced residual psoriasis in special body areas including the nails, palmoplantar, scalp, and face.
Reference: Kaplan D, Hetherington J, Lucas J, Khilfeh I, Nazareth T. Real-world health outcomes in US adult patients with mild to moderate plaque psoriasis taking topical therapy. J Dermatolog Treat. 2022;33(6):2844-2852. doi:10.1080/09546634.2022.2085862
