Reasons for Treatment Changes in Patients With Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis treatment involves multiple treatment arms. Treatment choice depends on many factors and may change, due to the chronicity of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study is to explore reasons for treatment changes in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. METHODS: Ten charts of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis were reviewed. The medication changes and reasons for change were extracted. A "treatment change" was defined as switching between medication classes, adding or removing a medication class, or switching medications within the oral or biologic medication class. RESULTS: Seventy-seven treatment changes were identified. On average, 1 treatment change occurred per year of follow-up. The most common reason for treatment change was inadequate disease control. CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate disease control with current therapy is the most common reason a physician changes treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis. More efficacious treatments or ways to improve efficacy may help improve the long-term outcomes of psoriasis.