Adalimumab for psoriasis: practical experience in a U.K. tertiary referral centre.
BACKGROUND
There are few reports of the practical use of adalimumab outside of a clinical trial setting and, to our knowledge, none from the U.K.


OBJECTIVE
We assessed the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in a cohort of patients with severe psoriasis attending a tertiary dermatology referral centre in the U.K.


METHODS
A retrospective case-note review was used to identify all patients initiated on adalimumab for psoriasis. RESI;TS: Baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was 24+/-11 (range 9-54; n=46). After 4 months' treatment with adalimumab 64% (29/45), of patients had achieved PASI 75 (75% decrease from baseline) whilst 80% (36/45) of patients met NICE criteria for continuation of treatment. Therapy was well-tolerated. Importantly, 68% (21/31) of patients who had previously received another tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitor met NICE criteria for continuation of treatment at 16 weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
In a cohort of U.K. patients with severe psoriasis, adalimumab has proved to be a significant addition to the expanding armamentarium of biologics for psoriasis. Pharmacovigilance, in the form of registries, is essential to assess the long-term safety of such drugs.
Warren
R B
RB
Dermatology Centre, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M6 8HD, U.K. richard.warren@manchester.ac.uk
Brown
B C
BC
Lavery
D
D
Griffiths
C E M
CE
D000068879:Adalimumab; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000068879:Adalimumab