Psoriasis is a common chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disorder and begins in childhood in almost one-third of the cases. Although children present with the same clinical subtypes of psoriasis seen in adults, lesions may differ in distribution and morphology, and their clinical symptoms at presentation may vary from those reported by adult patients. Nevertheless, diagnosis of psoriasis is primarily based on clinical features. Pediatric psoriasis can have a profound long-term impact on the psychological health of affected children. Additionally, pediatric psoriasis has been associated with certain comorbidities, such as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis, making early diagnosis and management essential. As guidelines are lacking and most (systemic) treatments are not approved for use in children, treatment of pediatric psoriasis remains a challenge. A prospective, multicenter, international registry is needed to evaluate these treatments in a standardized manner and ultimately to develop international guidelines on pediatric psoriasis. This article reviews current concepts in pediatric psoriasis including epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, the role of topical and systemic agents and the association with other morbidities in childhood.

IMPORTANCE Use of systemic therapies for moderate to severe psoriasis in children is increasing, but comparative data on their use and toxicities are limited.OBJECTIVE To assess patterns of use and relative risks of systemic agents for moderate to severe psoriasis in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA retrospective review was conducted at 20 centers in North America and Europe, and included all consecutive children with moderate to severe psoriasis who used systemic medications or phototherapy for at least 3 months from December 1, 1990, to September 16, 2014. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe minimal core data set included age, sex, severity of psoriasis, systemic interventions, monitoring, adverse events (AEs), and reason for discontinuation.RESULTS For 390 children (203 girls and 187 boys; mean [SD] age at diagnosis, 8.4 [3.7] years) with psoriasis who used 1 or more systemic medications, the mean interval between diagnosis and starting systemic therapy was 3.0 years. Methotrexate was used by 270 patients (69.2%), biologic agents (primarily etanercept) by 106 (27.2%), acitretin by 57 (14.6%), cyclosporine by 30 (7.7%), fumaric acid esters by 19 (4.9%), and more than 1 medication was used by 73 (18.7%). Of 270 children taking methotrexate, 130 (48.1%) reported 1 or more AEs associated with methotrexate, primarily gastrointestinal (67 [24.8%]). Folic acid 6 days per week (odds ratio, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.06-0.41; P < .001) or 7 days per week (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.08-0.58; P = .003) protected against gastrointestinal AEs more than once-weekly folic acid, regardless of the total weekly dosage. Methotrexate-associated hepatic transaminase elevations were associated with obesity (35 of 270 patients [13.0%]), but a folic acid regimen was not. Injection site reactions occurred in 20 of 106 patients (18.9%) treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, but did not lead to discontinuation of treatment. Having 1 or more AEs related to medication, gastrointestinal AE, laboratory abnormality, or AE leading to discontinuation of the drug was more likely with methotrexate than tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, but having 1 or more infections related to medication (predominantly upper airway) was less likely. Six patients developed a serious treatment-related AE (methotrexate, 3; fumaric acid esters, 2; and adalimumab, 1), but methotrexate and biologic agents were taken for a mean duration that was 2-fold greater than the mean duration for cyclosporine or fumaric acid esters. No patient developed tuberculosis or a malignant neoplasm.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Medication-related AEs occur less often with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors than with methotrexate. Folic acid administration 6 or 7 times per week protected more against methotrexate-induced gastrointestinal AEs than did weekly administration. A prospective registry is needed to track the long-term risks of systemic agents for pediatric psoriasis.

and the European Working Group on Pediatric Psoriasis IMPORTANCE Few studies have compared the use of methotrexate and biologics, the most commonly used systemic medications for treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis in children.OBJECTIVE To assess the real-world, 6-month reduction in psoriasis severity and long-term drug survival (rate and duration of adherence to a specific drug) of methotrexate vs biologics in plaque psoriasis in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA retrospective medical records review was conducted at 20 European and North American centers. Treatment response was based on site-reported Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and/or Physician Global Assessment (PGA) scores at baseline and within the first 6 months of treatment. Participants included all 234 consecutively seen children with moderate to severe psoriasis who

In the young adult psoriasis population, substantial QoL impairments were found. Female patients, patients with high BMI, or long disease duration in particular tended to experience more difficulties. These exploratory findings indicate the need for further studies in young adults to detect potential clinical predictors for severe HRQoL impairments.

No abstract

IMPORTANCE Treatment of psoriasis is associated with improved quality of life (QOL) in those with the disease. However, in daily clinical practice, the association between the degree of psoriasis clearance and QOL has not been studied to date, especially in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVES To identify the association between the degree of psoriasis improvement (as measured by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index [PASI] and body surface area [BSA] response) and QOL (as measured by the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index [CDLQI]) in pediatric psoriasis, and to assess the association of treatment type with QOL, independent of psoriasis improvement. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Data used in this single-center cohort study were extracted from the Child-CAPTURE (Continuous Assessment of Psoriasis Treatment Use Registry), a prospective, observational, daily clinical practice cohort of all children (aged <18 years) with a psoriasis diagnosis who attended the outpatient clinic of the Department of Dermatology at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, between September 3, 2008, and May 4, 2018. All records of treatment episodes with CDLQI, PASI, and BSA scores were included in the analysis. EXPOSURES Patients were treated according to daily clinical care. Treatments were clustered into topical, dithranol, conventional systemic, and biological treatments. Because of low numbers of UV-B phototherapy, this treatment was not assessed. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Primary outcomes were mean change of CDLQI scores per PASI and BSA response categories (0 to <50, 50 to <75, 75 to <90, and Ն90) and mean CDLQI change per treatment categories. RESULTS In total, 319 patients (median [interquartile range] age, 10.0 [7.0] years; 183 female [57.4%]) were analyzed for PASI score improvement (399 treatment episodes) and improvement in BSA involvement (366 treatment episodes). The greatest improvements in CDLQI scores were seen in the PASI Ն90 response category, with an estimated marginal mean change in CDLQI score of −6.6 (95% CI,-7.5 to-5.7). The greatest improvements in CDLQI scores were also observed in the BSA Ն90 response category, with an estimated marginal mean change in CDLQI score of −6.8 (95% CI,-7.5 to-6.1). Systemic treatment demonstrated a greater degree of improvement of CDLQI compared with topical treatment, independent of PASI response categories. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study in a real-world setting found that the greatest improvements in QOL were associated with PASI 90 or greater, a decrease in BSA involvement of 90% or greater, and systemic treatments. These findings suggest that reaching PASI 90 or greater and decreasing BSA involvement by at least 90% may be clinically meaningful treatment goals that will help pediatric patients with psoriasis reach optimal QOL.

Summary Background Although solely topical treatment often suffices, patients with psoriasis may require more intensive treatment (phototherapy and/or systemic treatments) to control their disease. However, in paediatric, adolescent and young adult patients, little is known about persistence of topical treatment and time until switch to systemic treatment. Objectives To determine the median time from psoriasis onset until (i) discontinuation of solely topical agents and (ii) switch to systemic treatment, and to identify patient characteristics associated with switching to systemic treatments. Methods Data were extracted from the Child‐CAPTURE registry, a prospective, observational cohort of patients with paediatric‐onset psoriasis followed into young adulthood from 2008 to 2018. Data prior to inclusion in the registry were collected retrospectively. Median times were determined through Kaplan–Meier survival analyses. Cox regression analysis was used to identify patient characteristics associated with switch to systemic treatment. Results Of 448 patients, 62·3% stayed on solely topical treatment until data lock; 14·3% switched from topicals to phototherapy, but not to systemic treatment; and 23·4% switched to systemic treatment. The median time from psoriasis onset until discontinuation of solely topical treatment was 7·3 years, and until switch to systemics was 10·8 years. Higher Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and (Children’s) Dermatology Life Quality Index > 5 were independently associated with switching to systemic treatment. Conclusions In a population of paediatric and adolescent patients with mild‐to‐severe psoriasis, one‐third needed more intensive treatment than solely topical therapy to control their disease. We consider the median time until switching to systemics to be long.

Little is known about the relationship between nail psoriasis and psoriasis severity in children, and there has been no longitudinal assessment of psoriasis severity related to nail psoriasis. The aim of this study was to assess whether nail psoriasis could serve as a predictor for a more severe disease course. De-identified data were obtained from the Child-CAPTURE registry, a daily clinical practice cohort of children with psoriasis, from September 2008 to November 2015. Cross-sectional analyses were performed at baseline. Longitudinal data until 2-year follow-up were analysed by linear mixed models. Nail psoriasis was present in 19.0% of all 343 patients at baseline and cross-sectionally associated with higher Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) (p = 0.033). Longitudinal analysis demonstrated higher PASI (p < 0.001) during 2-year follow-up in patients with nail involvement at baseline. These findings suggest that nail psoriasis is a potential clinical predictor for more severe disease course over time in paediatric psoriasis.