Coexistence of psoriatic arthritis, atopic dermatitis may offer treatment insights

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and atopic dermatitis (AD) can coexist, and the presence of both conditions may mean special attention should be given to selecting optimal treatment, according to a study published online April 17 in the Journal of Personalized Medicine.

Georgiana Strugariu, from "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania, and colleagues examined AD in patients with PsA and receiving biologics for their active disease in a retrospective analysis of 64 patients with PsA. Participants were followed in an outpatient rheumatology department for up to 10 years.

The researchers found that about one-third of the patients had atopic diseases, with a higher incidence of AD versus atopic rhinitis and allergic asthma (10 cases versus six and three cases, respectively [52.6 percent versus 31.6 and 15.8 percent, respectively]).

Within AD, three morphological patterns were recognized, including chronic prurigo, a chronic lichen simplex, and eczemas (three, one, and six cases, respectively). Late onset of skin atopy was seen for all PsA patients with concomitant AD (in adult life), and they exhibited a specific profile, including being younger, being from urban settings, being equally distributed among genders, and requiring switching to a higher number of biologics in order to achieve disease control.

"Screening patients with psoriasis and PsA for atopy and for AD could play an important role in creating a more specific profile of respondents to a particular therapeutic class and give these patients the chance for better control and a longer therapeutic response," the authors write.

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