Study of Treatment Pattern and Treatment Satisfaction with its Impact on Quality of Life among Psoriasis Patients

Introduction: Psoriasis is an immune mediated dermatological disorder affecting physical, psychological and social functioning of the individual. Aim: This study explored the pattern of drug use, quality of life and treatment satisfaction in psoriasis patients and to ascertain whether the satisfaction varies among different treatments. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 psoriasis patients, age group more than 18 years of both the genders, attending the dermatology department in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Quality of life and treatment satisfaction of the psoriatic patients were assessed using Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) and Psoriasis Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (PTSQ) respectively which contained various domains for topical, phototherapy and systemic treatment. Data was analysed with one-way ANOVA by SPSS software version 20.0. Results: Among the 50 patients, 44% received combination of topical and oral therapy and 24% received all three treatment regimens (topical, oral, phototherapy). Statistical significance was observed with PDI assessment with the duration of disease (with six months to one year, >one year) (p<0.001). Mean global satisfaction total score also showed statistical significance with phototherapy when compared with other therapies (p<0.01). Conclusion: Our study highlighted the effect of different dermatological therapy with high level of satisfaction with phototherapy which can be recommended by the clinicians to the patient who need it. The satisfaction levels of safety among all the three regimens were found to be equal and the Quality of life was impaired as the duration of disease progressed.