Covid outcomes in psoriasis patients using biologics

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These findings provide reassurance to clinicians and patients and support current recommendations endorsing uninterrupted biologic treatment and routine vaccination for individuals with psoriasis.

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Background:
Biologic therapy in psoriasis raises concerns regarding COVID-19 infection risk and vaccine response, yet real-world data remain limited.

Objective:
To evaluate COVID-19 infection rates, clinical severity, and vaccination response among biologic-treated patients with psoriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:
This cohort study included 12,306 patients with psoriasis followed at a tertiary medical center between March 2020 and May 2023. Primary outcomes included estimated SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, hospitalization, ICU admission, mortality, and a composite severe COVID-19 outcome (hospitalization, ICU admission, or death).

Results:
Based on national seroprevalence-adjusted rates, infection occurred in 673 of 962 biologic-treated patients (70.0%) and 7657 of 11,344 nonbiologic patients (67.5%) (p = 0.18). Hospitalization was more frequent among biologic-treated patients (45.2% vs 25.1%; p < 0.001), while ICU admission rates were comparable (2.6% vs 2.0%; p = 0.41). Mortality was significantly lower in the biologic group (6.3% vs 12.1%; p < 0.001).

Conclusions:
Biologic therapy in psoriasis was not associated with increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or impaired vaccine response.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

*Funding: No funding was received for this manuscript