A collaborative approach involving dermatologists and rheumatologists can improve the therapeutic management of psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), allowing for significant rates of clinical remission, according to an abstract presented at ACR Convergence 2021.

Valentin Schäfer, MD, PhD, from University Hospital in Bonn, Germany, presented the abstract.

Schäfer and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of all consultations involving both dermatology and rheumatology between April 1, 2016 and January 31, 2020. A specialized interdisciplinary PsA center was established on March 1, 2018. The investigators analyzed clinical data including baseline characteristics, treatment status, and treatment outcome.

The team studied 404 consultations, including 218 for patients with PsO and 103 for patients with PsA. Following consultation, 34.40% of patients with PsO and 69.90% of patients with PsA switched systemic medication. Twice as many patients with PsA (65.05%) began treatment with systemic medications, compared to patients with PsO (32.11%). The most commonly prescribed medications for PsA  were methotrexate (40.78%), oral glucocorticosteroids (19.42 %), and IL-17 inhibitors (9.71 %).

“This close collaboration lead to a long-lasting remission time of musculoskeletal complaints (at least 22.5 [IQR:3.0-53.0] median months) and skin lesions (at least 22.0 [IQR:3.0-53.0] median months) in over 60 % of PsA patients,” the authors reported.

“ We were able to demonstrate that close collaboration between dermatology and rheumatology can result in improved therapeutic management of psoriasis and PsA patients with a high degree of achieved clinical remission.”

—Rebecca Mashaw

Reference:

Ziob J, Behning C, Brossart P, Bieber T, Wilsmann-Theis D, Schäfer V. Therapeutic management and clinical remission in a specialized dermatological-rheumatological center for patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2021; November 5-9, 2021; virtual. Abstract 0140.