Evaluation of Anti-psoriatic Treatment Awareness, Prescription Patterns, and Adverse Effects in Patients with Psoriasis – A Questionnaire-Based Study

Abstract Background: Inadequate awareness regarding psoriasis treatment among patients contributes to non-adherence and poor quality of life. In addition, there are a multitude of drugs available for treatment resulting in prescription variability. These medications do produce adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but their frequency in our setting is lacking. The present study was planned to assess treatment awareness, prescription patterns, and frequency of ADR in psoriasis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional, single-centre, questionnaire-based study was conducted in the Dermatology OPD of a tertiary care hospital (December 2022–May 2024) after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Consented adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of psoriasis were included. Participants completed a pre-validated (21-item, score = 21) drug treatment awareness questionnaire. Current prescription details were recorded and analysed using WHO indicators, while ADRs experienced in the past 1 month were also analysed. Results: 256/400 (64%) psoriatic patients scored ≥ 11/21 (the mean awareness score was 11.2 ± 1.97) on the treatment awareness questionnaire. Nearly 2/3 rd of the patients were aware about the drug names and importance of therapy adherence but had poor awareness regarding the dose (34/400, 8.5%), dosing frequency (38/400, 9.5%), and side effects (42/265, 16% for topical steroids). The average number of drugs encountered per prescription was 7.05, of which 5.32 were anti-psoriatic medications and 3.36 were emollients. 165 ADRs were reported, of which the most common was diarrhoea and the implicated drug was apremilast. Conclusion: Patients of psoriasis had awareness about drug names and relevance of dosing schedule, but awareness regarding doses and side effects was lacking, highlighting the need for patient education programs. An average of 5.32 ± 2.6 anti-psoriatic drugs were prescribed per encounter, with yellow soft paraffin being the most common, and 165 ADRs were recorded, with diarrhoea being the most common, attributed to apremilast.