Risk of cutaneous infections in patients with psoriasis receiving systemic therapy: An analysis using the Western Japan Psoriasis Registry

Results from an analysis of the incidences of cutaneous infections in patients with psoriasis who received systemic treatment were published in The Journal of Dermatology by Higashi et al.¹ This study included 878 patients from the Western Japan Psoriasis Registry.¹

In patients with psoriasis who underwent systemic biologic treatment, cutaneous bacterial infections occurred in 12/878 patients, with cellulitis being the most common (67%); treatment with TNF-α inhibitors (odds ratio [OR], 9.917; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.069–47.572; p = 0.0041) and IL-17 inhibitors (OR, 10.798; 95% CI, 2.35–49.616; p = 0.0022), were associated with an increased risk of cutaneous bacterial infections.

Cutaneous viral infections occurred in 11/878 patients, predominantly herpes zoster (82%); a history of otitis media (OR, 4.499; 95% CI, 1.281–15.804; p = 0.019) and treatment with oral therapies (OR, 3.804; 95% CI, 1.141–12.679; p = 0.0296) were associated with a higher incidence of cutaneous viral infections.

Cutaneous fungal infections were observed in 45/878 patients, most commonly trichophytosis (73%); receiving IL-17 inhibitors (OR, 3.291; 95% CI, 1.744–6.209; p = 0.0002) and older age (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.007–1.073; p = 0.0003) were associated with a higher prevalence of cutaneous fungal infections.