The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients With Chronic Plaque Psoriasis Being Treated With Biologic Therapy

The British Journal of Dermatology

TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

• The authors performed a retrospective analysis between February 20 and April 1, 2020, to determine the rate of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 in patients with psoriasis. Of 5206 Italian patients with plaque psoriasis on biologic therapy, 4 were hospitalized for COVID-19–related interstitial pneumonia. No patients died from the disease. Another 2 patients tested positive for COVID-19 but did not require hospitalization.

• In this limited study, it does not appear that patients on biologic therapy for chronic plaque psoriasis are at an increased risk for infection or worse outcomes related to COVID-19 than the general population.

– Caitlyn T. Reed, MD

Abstract

The "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2) has spread over the four continents, causing the respiratory manifestations of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and satisfying the epidemiological criteria for a pandemic [1]. As of April 1, 2020, more than one million COVID-19 positive cases have been identified and more than 54,000 deaths have occurred worldwide [2]. In Italy, 110,574 positive cases, 49,285 hospitalized patients and 13,155 deaths out of a population of 60,359,546 inhabitants, have been reported, respectively [3]. The highest number of deaths occurred in the northern Italian regions, i.e. Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont [3].

The British Journal of Dermatology

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients With Chronic Plaque Psoriasis Being Treated With Biologic Therapy: The Northern Italy Experience

Br J Dermatol 2020 Apr 28;[EPub Ahead of Print], P Gisondi, P Facheris, P Dapavo, S Piaserico, A Conti, L Naldi, S Cazzaniga, P Malagoli, A Costanzo