Abstract
Psoriasis results in expenses to patients from many cost sources. Psoriasis treatment may result in considerable time and travelling costs, yet many studies fail to account for these costs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic burden of psoriasis in patients.Methods: The study was based on 200 patients with psoriasis visiting a tertiary level dermatological clinic. The data was based on a patient questionnaire and clinical data from the medical records. Item costs were based on true costs charged from the patients and all time cost estimates were done.Results: 200 patients with psoriasis were included in the study. Total costs were higher for patients receiving phototherapy than those receiving systemic treatment. The majority of the visit costs arose from hospitalization and only a small proportion were attributed to outpatient visits.Conclusion: Visit charges and other patient investigations were estimated to play a minor role in the total cost of psoriasis incurred by patients, while travel costs and loss of pay comprised the majority of the costs, which should not be omitted in future studies regarding costs of treatments.
Highlights
Psoriasis is a dermatological condition that is chronic and progressive
Visit charges and other patient investigations were estimated to play a minor role in the total cost of psoriasis incurred by patients, while travel costs and loss of pay comprised the majority of the costs, which should not be omitted in future studies regarding costs of treatments
In this study the treatment options that we have considered are patients on phototherapy with topical or systemic agents with topical therapy only.The cost of illness was computed as these treatments are the benchmark for physicians and patients, which is based on the systemic side effects profile of the drugs as well as the psoriasis area severity index (PASI) score (Carlin et al, 2004)
Summary
Psoriasis is a dermatological condition that is chronic and progressive. It affects almost all surface of the body. There is no cure available as on date, but there are measures and medications that can help to decrease the vigorous symptoms which affect the quality of life which makes the patient feel negative and depressed. It is not contagious, many a times due to ignorance psoriasis patients are isolated for fear of getting infected by the family members. It is estimated that 2% of world population is Satheendran et al / Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science 6 (11); 2016: 059-062
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