Serious Infections Likely to Develop in Psoriasis Patients

Patients suffering from psoriasis are at increased risk of developing serious infections.

New research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology explained that psoriasis patients have multiple risk factors for serious infections, including immune dysregulation, systemic immunosuppressive medications, and comorbid health conditions.

To determine the rates of serious infections in inpatient psoriasis patients, Jonathan I. Silverberg MD, PhD, MPH, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and colleagues, conducted a cross-section study of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2002-2012. This contained a 20% representative sample of all hospitalizations in the US.

The team also hoped to “quantify costs of care and length of stay and mortality.”

According to the study results, serious infections were reported for 28.2% of psoriasis hospitalizations and 21% of hospitalizations in patients without psoriasis.

Using multivariate logistic regression models, the team discovered the following serious infections associated with psoriasis:

· MRSA

· Cellulitis

· Herpes Simplex Virus Infection

· Infectious Arthritis

· Osteomyelitis

· Meningitis

· Encephalitis

· Tuberculosis

The researchers also shared that patients with psoriasis and serious infections had a higher average length of stay (6.6 days) and cost of care ($13,291) compared to psoriasis patients who didn’t develop serious infections (4.6 days, $11,003, respectively).

The authors concluded, “Serious infections are increasing in incidence in US inpatients with psoriasis. In addition, patients with psoriasis have higher odds of certain infections, such as tuberculosis, meningitis, and fungal infections. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and…to develop large-scale interventions aimed at preservation.”