Skin Complications Associated with Interferon-β Treatment in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Tehran in 2021 - 2

Abstract

Background: Interferons are generally prescribed in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. This study was done to investigate the severity and type of skin side effects of interferon beta (IFNβ) in patients with MS. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study on the patients with MS taking IFNβ medication referred to Baqiyatullah Hospital in 2021 - 22. The sample size was 322, and the sampling method was census. Data were documented in a checklist, and analyses were performed by SPSS software version 24 at a significance level of 0.05. Result: About 46% of patients had no skin complications. The erythema at the injection site was the commonest skin complication (45.2%). The hair loss severity after treatment had a statistically significant increase than before (P < 0.001). If the severity of the patient's current disease was moderate, the estimated odds of developing the erythema compared to no complication was 2.60 times higher than the patient with mild current severity of the disease (P = 0.003), and if the severity of the current disease was moderate, the estimated odds of developing erythema + eczema than no complications was 7.70 times higher than the patient with the current severity of the mild disease (P = 0.001). Conclusions: The most important skin complications MS patients experience following the use of IFNβ are injection site skin reactions and erythema. Hair loss increased in MS patients after IFNβ treatment. Prospective studies on the procedure of hair loss after treatment with IFNβ in MS patients are recommended.