ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) affect skin, and/or joints and quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVE: To better assess the success in multiple attributes in subjects with both active psoriasis and PsA, the objective was to quantify the proportion of those who achieved substantial improvement in a composite measure of skin symptoms, joint manifestations, and QoL, on one of two treatment regimens. METHODS: Subjects (n=752) with psoriasis and PsA (mean age: 46.5 years, 62.9% male) received etanercept (ETN) 50mg twice weekly (BIW; n = 379) or 50 mg weekly (QW; n=373) for 12 weeks, followed by open-label ETN 50mg QW for 12 weeks. Skin and joint symptoms and QoL were assessed using psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR) and Euro-QoL (EQ-5D), respectively. RESULTS: By week 24, 30.6% and 25.8% of subjects receiving ETN 50 mg BIW/QW and ETN 50 mg QW/QW, respectively (P = 0.198) achieved the composite measure of efficacy for skin plus joints plus QoL (PASI 75 + ACR 50 + EQ-5D VAS >82). CONCLUSION: At 24 weeks, 25.8-30.6% met the triad of rigorous efficacy outcomes. Evaluation of treatment efficacy should address the multiple components of this disease complex; therefore it may be important to consider this composite measure in future trials.
