Jeffrey M. Sobell, Peter Foley, Darryl Toth, Ulrich Mrowietz, Giampiero Girolomoni, Joana Goncalves, Robert M. Day, Rongdean Chen, Gil Yosipovitch
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-2360

Pruritus and skin discomfort/pain negatively impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The effects of apremilast, an oral phosphodiesterase inhibitor, on pruritus, skin discomfort/pain, and patient global assessment of psoriasis disease activity (PgAPDA) were assessed in moderate/severe chronic plaque psoriasis patients in the phase 3 ESTEEM trials. Significant improvements in pruritus and skin discomfort/pain observed at Week 2 with apremilast versus placebo (both studies, p<0.0001) were sustained through Week 32. Among apremilast-treated patients, improvements in pruritus visual analog scale (VAS) scores correlated with Dermatology Life Quality Index scores (rs=0.55 [Week 16], rs≥0.51 [Week 32]; both studies, p<0.001). PgAPDA correlated with improvements in pruritus (rs≥0.56 [Week 16]; rs≥0.53 [Week 32]; both studies, p<0.001) and skin discomfort/pain (rs≥0.54 [Week 16]; rs≥0.53 [Week 32]; both studies, p<0.001) VAS scores. Apremilast provided rapid and sustained improvement in pruritus and skin discomfort/pain, symptoms not typically captured in psoriasis assessments (e.g., PASI) that contribute significantly to patients’ disease severity and HRQoL perceptions.

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