Efficacy and Safety of Ixekizumab in a Real-Life Practice: A Retrospective Bicentric Study

Abstract

BackgroundIxekizumab has proven efficacy and safety for the treatment of psoriasis in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness and safety in routine clinical practice. MethodsRetrospective study of all patients treated with ixekizumab in 2 dermatology departments in the city of Valencia, Spain. ResultsSeventy-five patients (53.3% men and 46.7% women) with a mean age of 48.61 years were studied; 77.3% (n = 58) had plaque psoriasis and 22.7% (n = 17) had psoriasis predominantly affecting a specific area. The most common comorbidity was obesity (present in 48% of patients) and 40% of the overall group had not been previously treated with a biologic drug. Mean psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) fell from 9.99 at baseline to 1.5 at week 16. PASI-75 and PASI-90 (improvements of at least 75% and 90% in PASI) were independent of sex, age, baseline PASI, and the comorbidities analyzed. Responses at week 16 and 52 were significantly better in biologic-naïve patients for the overall group and the subgroup of patients with localized psoriasis. Adverse effects were reported for 25.7% of patients and the most common effect was injection-site reaction. There were no serious adverse effects. ConclusionsOur findings show that ixekizumab is both effective and safe in the treatment of psoriasis in routine clinical practice.