title: Practicability of combined treatment with calcipotriol/betamethasone gel (Daivobet® Gel) and improvement of quality of life in patients with psoriasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The successful treatment of psoriasis depends not only on the efficacy of the medication but also on patientsí acceptance and adherence to the prescribed regimen.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this non-interventional, prospective trial 579 patients with psoriasis were treated once daily with the fixed combination of calcipotriol 50 μg/g plus betamethasone 0.5 mg/g (Daivobet® Gel) for 4 weeks. Comparing the new medication to their previous treatment, patients assessed their quality of life by means of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), reported their therapy- associated burden in daily life by the Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) and assessed how easy the new medication was to employ. Disease severity was rated at the start and end of the study by physicians and patients using a Global Assessment (PGA from 0-5 points) and the Body Surface Area (BSA) assessed by the physicians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Quality of life improved from 8.7 to 3.2 points (p < 0.0001) parallel to a significant decrease of PGA by 39.6% (p < 0.0001) and BSA (72.5% of patients with BSA > 4% before vs. 37.3% after therapy). The application of the study medication was 30% less time-consuming and handling associated with significantly higher patient satisfaction. Efficacy and tolerability of Daivobet® Gel versus prior treatment were judged "very good" in 85.7% vs. 27.6% of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study substantiates a significant improvement of the quality of life during therapy with the fixed combination. Patients benefit from the convenience and time-saving as compared to their prior treatment. Thus, Daivobet® Gel can be recommended as an effective and well-tolerated treatment which may easily be integrated into daily life of patients with psoriasis.
authors: Department of Dermatology, University of Erlangen, Germany. michael.sticherling@uk-erlangen.de
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Sticherling
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Eicke
authors: Tobias
authors: T
authors: Anger
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; C517164:betamethasone dipropionate, calcipotriol drug combination; D001623:Betamethasone; D002117:Calcitriol