[Translated article] Family Planning Concerns Among Women With Psoriasis: A Descriptive, Cross-Sectional, Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A significant proportion of women of childbearing age have psoriasis. The aim of this study was to examine family planning concerns in this population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between March 2020 and October 2021. We collected sociodemographic data and analyzed responses to a family planning questionnaire administered to women aged 18 to 45 years with plaque psoriasis who were candidates for systemic treatment. RESULTS: We studied 153 patients (mean [SD] age, 35.4 [8.0] years; mean disease duration, 16.7 years) being treated at 11 Spanish hospitals. Overall, 38.4% of women were considered to have moderate to severe psoriasis by their physicians; perceived severity ratings were significantly higher among women. Psoriasis affected the women's desire to become pregnant or led to their delaying pregnancy in 1 in 3 respondents. They were concerned that their condition might worsen if they had to discontinue or switch treatment or that the treatment might harm the baby. Approximately half of the women had not received family planning counseling from their physicians, and this was more likely to be the case among never-pregnant women. Women on biologic therapy (58.7%) had better psoriasis control and a better quality of life than women on other treatments. Their sexual health was also less affected. CONCLUSIONS: Women with psoriasis have numerous family planning concerns, which in some cases can lead them to delay pregnancy or affect their desire to become pregnant. Dermatologists need to receive better training regarding family planning in women with psoriasis so that they can provide their patients with more and better information.

Family Planning Concerns Among Women With Psoriasis: A Descriptive, Cross-Sectional, Multicenter Study. / Percepción de la mujer con psoriasis en la planificación familiar: Estudio descriptivo, transversal y multicéntrico.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A significant proportion of women of childbearing age have psoriasis. The aim of this study was to examine family planning concerns in this population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between March 2020 and October 2021. We collected sociodemographic data and analyzed responses to a family planning questionnaire administered to women aged 18 to 45 years with plaque psoriasis who were candidates for systemic treatment. RESULTS: We studied 153 patients (mean [SD] age, 35.4 [8.0] years; mean disease duration, 16.7 years) being treated at 11 Spanish hospitals. Overall, 38.4% of women were considered to have moderate to severe psoriasis by their physicians; perceived severity ratings were significantly higher among women. Psoriasis affected the women's desire to become pregnant or led to their delaying pregnancy in 1 in 3 respondents. They were concerned that their condition might worsen if they had to discontinue or switch treatment or that the treatment might harm the baby. Approximately half of the women had not received family planning counseling from their physicians, and this was more likely to be the case among never-pregnant women. Women on biologic therapy (58.7%) had better psoriasis control and a better quality of life than women on other treatments. Their sexual health was also less affected. CONCLUSIONS: Women with psoriasis have numerous family planning concerns, which in some cases can lead them to delay pregnancy or affect their desire to become pregnant. Dermatologists need to receive better training regarding family planning in women with psoriasis so that they can provide their patients with more and better information.

Management of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis in Routine Clinical Practice in Spanish Hospitals. / Manejo de la psoriasis moderada-grave en condiciones de práctica habitual en el ámbito hospitalario español.

BACKGROUND: There is currently little information available on the management of patients with psoriasis in the daily clinical practice of dermatologists in Spain. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to survey a group of Spanish dermatologists with particular expertise in the management of psoriasis to determine their opinions on the protocols used in routine clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on an online survey about the management of psoriasis sent to 75 dermatologists. The survey, which was specifically designed for the study, included 12questions on different aspects of clinical practice in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. RESULTS: The response rate was 96% (n=72). Biologics were the most widely used monotherapy option. In total, 64.3% of respondents reported that their patients used conventional systemic therapies for 1 to 2years before switching to a biologic drug and that the main reason for the switch was unstable control of disease activity. Overall, 85.7% assigned a "high" or "very high" importance to the use of a Psoriasis Area Severity Index score of <3 as a treatment goal. The drugs of choice among the respondents were etanercept for pediatric patients (78.6%), adalimumab and etanercept for patients with psoriatic arthritis (64.3%), and ustekinumab in patients frequently away from home (78.6%) and patients with a history of multiple sclerosis, demyelinating diseases (64.3%), or poor adherence to treatment (71.4%). CONCLUSION: This study provides a unique overview of the opinions of a representative sample of expert dermatologists on the current use of biologics for the treatment of psoriasis in Spain.

[Physical principles and general considerations]. / Principios físicos y generalidades.

Cutaneous ultrasound is based on the application of the physical properties of ultrasound to the skin and cutaneous adnexae. Knowledge of ultrasound semiology, artifacts and the application of Doppler examination allows deeper study of the biology and diseases of the skin and its adnexae.

[Long term efficacy and safety of etanercept in psoriasis]. / Eficacia y seguridad a largo plazo de etanercept en la psoriasis.

There are many studies that have shown that etanercept is an effective and safe drug for the short-term treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. However, psoriasis is a disease with a chronic or recurrent course associated to arthritis and comorbidities that diminish the patient's health and quality of life and that often requires either continuous or intermittent long-term treatment. The data available on the use of etanercept in the long-term treatment of psoriasis, even at high doses, have shown that it has a good efficacy and safety profile. Half of the patients obtained a 75% improvement on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI-75 during prolonged treatments of up to 96 months. The PASI 75 response is higher in continuous regimes than in intermittent ones (with pauses). Most of the patients maintain the response at long-term, although a decrease in efficacy is observed in some of them, as occurs with other tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. Accumulated experience with etanercept in other chronic inflammatory diseases also supports this good safety profile.