Challenges of biological therapy in patients with pustular psoriasis coexisting with psoriatic arthritis

Abstract

Introduction. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting approximately 2-3% of the general population. It is a condition with immunological and genetic background, coexisting with psoriatic arthritis in about 25% of cases. Biologic drugs have brought a significant improvement in managing the disease, however they are not approved for the treatment of pustular psoriasis. An increasing number of reports indicate the efficacy of biological drugs in pustular psoriasis. In some patients there are factors responsible for a worse clinical response to biologic therapy. Objective. Presentation of therapeutic difficulties identified in a patient with pustular psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Case report. We report a case of a 48-year-old man with generalized pustular psoriasis coexisting with psoriatic arthritis in whom therapy with multiple biologic drugs (adalimumab, infliximab, golimumab, ustekinumab) has failed to bring a satisfactory improvement. Conclusions. Further studies are needed to verify the efficacy and possibly approve biological drugs for the treatment of pustular psoriasis. Also, attempts should be made to identify predictors of poorer response to treatment in order to individualize therapy and prevent the loss of efficacy of biologic drugs during prolonged use.