Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Infectious diseases and clinical microbiology (Online), cilt.5, sa.2, ss.127-135, 2023 (ESCI)
Objective: Psoriasis patients may have been affected by COVID-19 differently than the nor- mal population due to using different types of treatments, including immunosuppressive agents and biological therapies, the probability of lower effectiveness, and different side effects of the vaccines. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiologic and clinical features of COVID-19 and the effect of the psoriasis treatment on it. Materials and Methods: Psoriasis patients followed up in our clinic between March 2020 and July 2022 were evaluated in terms of clinicodemographic characteristics, treatment methods, and COVID-19 vaccination status and compared regarding COVID-19 history. Results: A total of 110 patients (female:male ratio=1:1.2) with a mean age of 45.6±14.3 years were evaluated. Thirty patients (27.2%) developed COVID-19 during psoriasis treatment. Unvaccinated patients had COVID-19 (6/11, 55%) more frequently than vaccinated ones (24/99, 24%), but it was not statistically significant (p =0.067). Although patients who re- ceived biological therapy were also more frequently infected with SARS-CoV-2 than pa- tients who received other types of therapies (18/53 [34%] versus 12/57 [21%], respectively), the difference was again not statistically significant. A patient with hypertension using acitretin was hospitalized for pulmonary involvement because of COVID-19. No exacerba- tion of psoriasis was observed in patients who developed COVID-19, while psoriasis flares occurred following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in two patients. Conclusion: Patients with psoriasis should get vaccinated against COVID-19, as vaccination prevents the disease and does not result in serious side effects. Although using biological agents for the treatment of psoriasis could be related to a higher risk of getting COVID-19, these agents do not increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Therefore, they may be beneficial in reducing the risk of both psoriasis exacerbations and severe COVID-19 due to the cy- tokine storm among patients using biological for psoriasis. However, large-scale and con- trolled studies are needed to support our conclusions.