Biological agent trials for psoriasis rarely include patient images

Few randomized controlled trials involving biological agents for psoriasis treatment include patient images, according to a review published online on Nov. 15 in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment.

Sam Polesie, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to assess the proportion of shared clinical images in psoriasis trials. The review was limited to randomized controlled trials involving biological agents for the treatment of psoriasis. Data were included for 152 studies, including 62,871 randomly assigned patients.

The researchers found that most investigations (77.0 percent) included no patient image material. A total of 203 images depicting 60 patients were identified in the manuscripts for an overall sharing rate of 0.1 percent. Six investigations included video supplements, but only one included images from patients.

"We hope that this systematic review can serve as an invitation to the pharmaceutical industry and other sponsors, as well as journal editors and authors, to include more images in scientific publications. Including more clinical images with our original manuscripts could better support patient involvement," Polesie said in a statement.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.