Profile of psoriasis vulgaris patients receiving secukinumab therapy in 2019-2021

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis vulgaris can affect patients' quality of life due to its clinical appearance, expensive treatment costs, and side effects of therapy. Effective long-term treatment with secukinumab injection can help improve this condition. This study aims to identify psoriasis vulgaris conditions with secukinumab injection based on disease severity and quality of life. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were taken from patients' medical records at the Dermatology and Venerology Polyclinic of Prof. dr. I G. N. G. Ngoerah Hospital, Denpasar, Bali, from January 2019-December 2021. Demographic characteristics variables were age, gender and history of comorbidities. Variables that reflect disease severity and quality of life were body surface area (BSA), Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). The distribution of BSA, PASI and DLQI scores is shown in a box plot. In comparison, the distribution of the number of cases based on each category of BSA, PASI and DLQI is presented in a proportion table. Results: There were 17 patients, mostly men, with a mean age of 38. Patients' Diagnoses were divided into psoriasis vulgaris (52.9%) and psoriasis vulgaris with psoriatic arthritis (47.1%). Based on BSA, clinical improvement was seen two weeks after initiation of therapy, while the BSA grade category improved when entering the maintenance phase. Based on the PASI score, were decreased after an average of 1 week since initiation, and the PASI grade category improved after an average of 2 weeks. Finally, based on the DLQI score, the patient's quality of life improved after an average of 4 weeks since initiation. Conclusions: There was an improvement in the severity of psoriasis vulgaris according to BSA, PASI score and overall DLQI after two cycles of initial dosing of secukinumab injection.