‌April 29th, 2021

Drop in biological initiation for patients with psoriasis during the COVID‐pandemic

EPI-PHARE members sign a research letter in British Journal of Dermatology:

Drop in biological initiation for patients with psoriasis during the COVID‐pandemic

Biologics have become the backbone of chronic inflammatory diseases treatment, including psoriasis. Post-approval studies allowed to better understand their safety profile demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio despite an increased risk of infection, and especially an increased risk of bacterial infection with anti-TNF agents.1,2 In the COVID-19 pandemic context, all experts agree that discontinuing biologic therapy is not recommended.3 However, we hypothesized that the pandemic may have modified the first initiation of biological therapy for patients with psoriasis. Indeed, in France, many patients experienced difficulties to access health care during
and after the first lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, from March to May, 2020.4 We therefore studied changes in the dispensing of biologics for psoriasis during the year 2020 in France.

 

This study highlights a marked decrease of up to 57% in the initiation of biologics for psoriasis healthcare users during the pandemic in France compared with 2019, which was not compensated after the end of the lockdown, whereas already biologic-treated psoriasis patients still maintained their treatment.

Accss the article

Find the article on the website of British Journal of Dermatology