Comparison of phenotype, comorbidities, therapy and adverse events between psoriatic patients with and without psoriatic arthritis. Biobadaderm registry.

BACKGROUND: There are a limited number of studies comparing psoriasis patients without psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to those with arthritis. Previous results are controversial. OBJECTIVES: To perform a comparative analysis of the phenotype, baseline comorbidities, therapeutic profile and incidence of adverse events (particularly overall adverse events, infections and infestations, malignancies and psychiatric disorders) among psoriatic patients with/without PsA. METHODS: All the patients on the Biobadaderm registry, a prospective inception cohort of psoriasis patients on systemic therapy, were included. Patients were divided into two groups: those with psoriasis without arthritis at the time of entry into the cohort (Pso group) and those with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA group) at entry. Patients were followed until the censorship date (last visit in a lost-to-follow-up patient, or 10 November 2015, whichever occurred first). We excluded all the patients who developed any kind of signs and/or symptoms of joint involvement during the follow-up. A descriptive analysis was performed. We estimated incidence ratios (IRR) of adverse events during systemic treatment using a mixed-effects Poisson regression. RESULTS: We included 2120 patients: 1871 (88%) patients with psoriasis without arthritis and 249 (12%) with psoriasis and PsA. The follow-up time was 5020 patients-year in the Pso group and 762 patients-year in the PsA group. Patients with PsA had more comorbidities, particularly hypertension and liver disease; used a higher number of systemic therapies, particularly anti-TNFα drugs and combination therapy; and presented more adverse events (IRR adjusted = 1.29; 95% CI: [1.05-1.58]), particularly serious adverse events (IRR adjusted = 1.51; 95% CI: [1.01-2.26]) and infections/infestations (IRR adjusted = 1.88; 95% CI: [1.27-2.79]), independently of the associated comorbidities and present/past therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Given the differences between patients with psoriasis alone or with psoriasis associated with PsA, patients with psoriasis and PsA should be followed and managed more closely and with specific attention.

Management of Biologic Therapy in Moderate to Severe Psoriasis in Surgical Patients: Data From the Spanish Biobadaderm Registry. / Manejo de los tratamientos biológicos en pacientes con psoriasis moderada-grave sometidos a intervenciones quirúrgicas en el registro español Biobadaderm.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We now have considerable experience in the use of biologic agents to treat psoriasis, but doubts about management arise in certain clinical settings. Surgery is one of them. Although treatment guidelines advise that biologics be suspended before major surgery, data about actual clinical practices and associated complications are lacking. We aimed to analyze current practice in the clinical management of these cases. METHODS: Retrospective study of cases in the Biobadaderm database. We analyzed the management of biologic therapy in patients with psoriasis who underwent surgical procedures. RESULTS: Forty-eight of the 2113 patients registered in Biobadaderm underwent surgery. The largest percentage of procedures (31%) involved skin lesions. Biologic treatment was interrupted in 42% of the cases. No postsurgical complications were significantly related to treatment interruption. Likewise we detected no associations between treatment interruption and other variables, such as sex, age, or duration or severity of psoriasis. CONCLUSION: Continuity of biologic treatment and the risk of postsurgical complications were not associated in this study, although conclusions are limited by the small sample size.

Survival of classic and biological systemic drugs in psoriasis: results of the BIOBADADERM registry and critical analysis.

BACKGROUND: Few reported studies compare drug survival in moderate-to-severe psoriasis vulgaris. OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare drug survival of systemic drugs, including biologic agents (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab and ustekinumab) and classical drugs (acitretin, ciclosporin and methotrexate) in moderate-to-severe psoriasis. METHODS: This was a multicenter, prospective, cohort study of patients receiving systemic therapies between 2008 and 2013 in 12 hospitals in Spain. Baseline data and drug discontinuation were collected. Drug survival is presented using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. We compared adjusted risk ratios of serious adverse events (AEs) with results of survival analysis for AEs. RESULTS: A total of 1956 patients were included for analysis (1240 exposed to biologics during follow-up and 1076 to classic therapies). Median follow-up time was 3.3 years (0.0-5.1 years). There were 2209 discontinuations out of 3640 therapy cycles started. The main reason for discontinuation was lack of efficacy (36.4%) and remission (27.2%). Biologics showed a higher drug survival than classics and the pattern of survival results for all outcomes (positive or negative) were very similar. Adjusted risk ratios of serious AEs did not agree with results of survival analysis. LIMITATIONS: A limitation is that this is an observational study with potential selection bias. CONCLUSION: Survival as a proxy measure of drug safety in psoriasis is inadequate.

Safety of classic and biologic systemic therapies for the treatment of psoriasis in elderly: an observational study from national BIOBADADERM registry.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis patients over 65 years-old (elderly) constitute a growing group, underrepresented in clinical trials, and likely to be more prone to adverse events. OBJECTIVE: To describe safety of systemic psoriasis therapy in patients over 65 years-old compared to younger patients. METHODS: Patients registered in Biobadaderm, a Spanish national registry of psoriasis patients treated with systemic therapy, were grouped in elderly (≥ 65 years old) and younger patients. Rates of adverse events were described by severity and type, and the risks compared in both groups, taking into account exposure to classic or biologic drugs, using Cox regression. RESULTS: 175 (9.8%) of 1793 patients were elderly. Overall risk of adverse events was not higher in elderly (drug group adjusted HR 1.09 (95%CI: 0.93-1.3)). Serious adverse events were more common in elderly (drug group adjusted HR 3.2 (95%CI: 2.0-5.1)). Age adjusted HR of all adverse events was lower for patients exposed to biologics compared to classic drugs in the whole sample (HR 0.7 (95%CI: 0.6-0.7)). Age did not seem to modify the effect of therapy (biologic vs. classic) in the risk of adverse events (likelihood ratio test for interaction, p = 0.12 for all adverse events, p = 0-09 for serious adverse events). CONCLUSIONS: Serious adverse events are more common in elderly patients, although they may be related to other variants that are associated with this age group and not due to the treatment itself. Use of biologics was associated with lower risk of adverse events in the whole group. We found no differences in this association between young and elderly. These results are reassuring, although uncontrolled confounding could not be excluded as an explanation for these findings, and the power of the study to detect differences was low.

Risk of adverse events in psoriasis patients receiving classic systemic drugs and biologics in a 5-year observational study of clinical practice: 2008-2013 results of the Biobadaderm registry.

BACKGROUND: Biobadaderm is the Spanish registry of psoriasis patients receiving systemic treatment in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To compare the safety of biologics and classic systemic treatment. METHODS: Prospective cohort of patients receiving biologics and classic systemic therapies between 2008 and 2013 in 12 hospitals are included. We registered demographic data, diagnoses, comorbidities, treatments and adverse events (AE). We obtained raw relative risks (RR) for specific AE. Multivariate analysis consisted of Cox models adjusting for age, gender, chronic hepatic disease and previous cancer. RESULTS: A total of 1030 patients received biologics (2061 AE in 3681 person-years), 926 patients classic systemic drugs (1015 AE in 1517 person-years). Ninety-three per cent of AE in both groups were non-serious, 6% serious and 0.003% fatal. The age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratio of AE was lower in the biologics group [hazard ratio 0.6 (95% CI: 0.5-0.7)].We found no differences in rates of serious and mortal AE. Some system organ class AE rates differed between both groups. As limitations: Prescription bias might affect the incidence of AE in both groups. Association of drug and AE was based on timing: associations might not be causal. CONCLUSION: Patients receiving biologics had lower risk of AE. We did not find differences in the risk of serious or fatal AE.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and other comorbidities in patients with psoriasis: baseline characteristics of patients in the AQUILES study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with psoriasis often have comorbidities, including other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), and cardiovascular risk factors. In this article we describe the baseline prevalence of comorbidities-including other IMIDs-in a cohort of patients with psoriasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: AQUILES was a prospective observational multicenter study of 3 patient cohorts (patients with psoriasis, spondyloarthritis, or inflammatory bowel disease) undertaken to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities, including other IMIDs, in these settings. The psoriasis cohort comprised patients aged at least 18 years who were seen in hospital dermatology clinics. A predefined protocol was used to collect demographic and clinical data. RESULTS: The study enrolled 528 patients with psoriasis (60.2% men and 39.8% women). Mean age was 46.7 years; 89.8% of the participants had plaque psoriasis, and the median Psoriasis Area Severity Index score (PASI) was 3.2 (1.5-7.4). Comorbid IMIDs were present in 82 (15.5%) of the patients (CI 95%, 12.7%-18.9%). Spondyloarthritis was observed in 14% of patients (95% CI, 11.3%-17.2%), mostly in the form of psoriatic arthritis, for which the overall prevalence was 13.1% (95% CI, 10.5%-16.2%). Inflammatory bowel disease was present in 1.3% (95% CI, 0.6%-2.7%) and uveitis in .2% (95% CI, 0.1%-1.4%). Psoriatic arthritis was associated with male sex (odds ratio, 1.75 [.98-2.98]) and a disease duration of over 8 years (OR, 4.17 [1.84-9.44] vs a duration of < 4 years). In 73.1%, at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor was identified: smoking (40.5%), obesity (26.0%), dyslipidemia (24.8%), hypertension (24.3%), and diabetes mellitus (12.3%). CONCLUSION: In patients with psoriasis the prevalence of other IMIDs was 15.5%, a level slightly higher than that found in the general population. Nearly three-quarters of these patients had at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor.

Body mass index in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in Spain and its impact as an independent risk factor for therapy withdrawal: results of the Biobadaderm Registry.

BACKGROUND: There are few data on the prevalence of obesity in the general psoriasis population and on the real impact of obesity on the management of psoriasis patients in the clinical setting. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis compared to the general population and to assess the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the risk of discontinuing treatment. METHODS: Patients registered on Biobadaderm, a prospective registry, were grouped according the different categories of BMI and compared to the general Spanish population. Drug survival was analysed considering only drug withdrawal due to lack of effectiveness, remission and adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 1162 moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients on systemic conventional or biological treatment were recruited. The prevalence of obesity was found to be significantly higher in psoriasis patients than in the general Spanish population (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis a 5-unit increase in BMI, similar to a change in BMI category from normal weight to overweight and from overweight to obesity, was associated with a 12% increased risk of discontinuing therapy due to lack of effectiveness (HR 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.24) and with a 17% increased risk of having an adverse event (HR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.02-1.36), both independently of the drug used. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis had a higher prevalence of obesity than the general population. Increased BMI was associated with an increased risk of treatment discontinuation due to lack of effectiveness and a higher risk of adverse events.

Obesity and psoriasis: inflammatory nature of obesity, relationship between psoriasis and obesity, and therapeutic implications.

Obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, is currently considered a chronic low-grade inflammatory condition that plays an active role in the development of the pathophysiologic phenomena responsible for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease through the secretion of proinflammatory adipokines and cytokines. In recent years clear genetic, pathogenic, and epidemiologic links have been established between psoriasis and obesity, with important implications for health. The relationship between the 2 conditions is probably bidirectional, with obesity predisposing to psoriasis and psoriasis favoring obesity. Obesity also has important implications in the treatment of psoriasis, such as a greater risk of adverse effects with conventional systemic drugs and reduced efficacy and/or increased cost with biologic agents, for which dosage should be adjusted to the patient's weight.

[Comorbidities in psoriasis]. / Comorbilidades en psoriasis.

Although in most majority the psoriasis presents/displays a clinical cutaneous today fundamentally we know that it can be associated to other diseases extracutaneous, as much you will articular, digestive, metabolic, cardiovascular and even psychic. We reviewed in this article the atiopathogenics bases and the risks that the psoriáasics patients must to suffer these comorbidities.

Etanercept: efficacy and safety.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of etanercept in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. METHODS: An observational, longitudinal, and retrospective study involving two groups of dose of treatment with etanercept (50 vs. 100 mg/week). The selected patients presented moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and they had received treatment with the mentioned drug. A total of 58 patients were included in the study. The efficacy of the drug was evaluated by measuring the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), body surface area (BSA) and physician's global assessment (PGA) in weeks 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48. RESULTS: A statistically significant improvement was observed in the PASI, BSA and PGA indexes after 24 and 48 weeks of therapy. As for PASI, and after 48 weeks of treatment, PASI 50, 75 and 90 were 100.0%, 92.3% and 69.2%, respectively. In our series, etanercept 50 mg/week reached the same results after 48 weeks as etanercept 100 mg/week, though the initial response was faster in the last group. The PASI, BSA and PGA indexes diminished significantly with the treatment, though without statistically significant differences between both groups. As for the safety, etanercept was well tolerated, and no serious adverse events were recorded. There were no cases of tuberculosis or opportunistic infections. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the efficacy and safety outcomes of the clinical trials of etanercept in psoriasis with both doses of treatment. As for the safety, etanercept was well tolerated, and all the recorded adverse events coincided with the known potential side-effects of treatment.

[Efficacy of short- and long-term efalizumab]. / Eficacia de efalizumab a corto y largo plazo.

T cells play an important role in the immune system and in the inflammatory response that determines the development and maintenance of psoriasis plaques. Better understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease has led to the development of specific biological treatments aimed at patients with extensive psoriasis. Traditionally, psoriasis has been treated with drugs which, in spite of their efficacy, have a toxicity associated to their long-term use. Thus, they cannot be used safely, comfortably or efficiently in many patients. Efalizumab, a biological agent specifically and selectively directed towards blocking the key steps in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, has been shown to be effective and safe in the short and long term in the treatment of psoriasis in more than 15 phase I, II and III clinical trials. In this article, the results of efficacy at 12 weeks, 6 months and three years are reviewed. Efalizumab arises as an important addition to the dermatological pharmacopoeia for the long-term treatment of psoriasis.

Granulomatous slack skin disease in a child: the outcome.

Granulomatous slack skin syndrome is a rare clinical and pathologic disorder. Only 42 patients have been reported, one of whom we described in 1997--the only child so far reported. We now describe the evolution of this patient and the transformation of the disease into a peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and the complications resulting in the child's death.

[Complications in dermatologic surgery]. / Complicaciones en Dermatología Quirúrgica.

Surgical complications are any deviation from the expected course of the surgical procedure. They occur as a consequence of one or more unexpected events, which can be avoided in the majority of cases through careful planning, a precise surgical technique, and correct postoperative care. Some complications, such as cardiac arrhythmias, anaphylaxis, and cardiorespiratory arrest, are life-threatening whereas others, occurring as a direct result of surgery, can affect the healing process and the final cosmetic appearance of the scar. We must therefore have not only the relevant training in dermatologic surgery, but also in basic and advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In this review we discuss the perioperative measures necessary to avoid the onset of complications in dermatologic surgery and we define the various complications that can develop.

[Capecitabine-induced hyperpigmentation]. / Hiperpigmentación secundaria a capecitabina.

Capecitabine is an antineoplastic agent used for the treatment of patients with metastatic solid tumors (breast and colon). Different adverse effects have been recognized, among which we find the muco-cutaneous ones and, specifically, hyperpigmentation. We report a case of localized cutaneous hyperpigmentation secondary to capecitabine in a woman that underwent surgery for breast cancer and was receiving this drug for a month. The start of therapy was associated with dysesthesias and hyperpigmentation of the hands and feet. The pathogenesis of such manifestations is unknown. Other reported cutaneous adverse effects associated with this drug involve the nails producing onycholysis, fragility, discoloration and dystrophy.

[Trichothiodystrophy: PIBIDS syndrome]. / Tricotiodistrofia: síndrome PIBIDS.

Trichothiodystrophy comprises a heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive entities. This fact gives rise to different interrelated neuroectodermal disorders. From a structural point of view these features are the result of the low tissue sulfur content. We report a case of trichothiodystrophy initially classified as Tay syndrome that based on clinical features, complementary exams as well as on the disease evolution was labelled as PIBIDS syndrome.

Erythema figuratum in septic babesiosis.

Babesiosis is a rare worldwide-distributed protozoal zoonosis caused by a haemoprotozoan of the genus Babesia, transmitted through bites of tick of the genus Ixodes. The first demonstrated case of human babesiosis in the world was discovered in Europe, in 1957. However, most of the cases were reported later in the north-east of the United States where Babesia microti has been the cause of over 300 cases of human babesiosis since 1969. In Europe, the most severe cases are observed in asplenic patients infected by a parasite of cattle, the Babesia divergens. Only two cases of babesiosis have been reported in Spain. We present a case of erythema figuratum associated to septic babesiosis in a non-splenectomized man, which is currently the third case of babesiosis in Spain.