From fragmentation to integration: impact of the creation of the Psoriatic Disease Unit on comprehensive patient management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47196/a0kq1466Keywords:
psoriatic disease, interdisciplinaryAbstract
Introduction: psoriatic disease (PD) is an immune-mediated disease with a genetic predisposition that presents a chronic course associated with multifactorial triggers, leading to a significant impact on quality of life. It can affect the skin, mucosa, semimucosa, appendages, and joints. Due to its systemic nature and the frequent coexistence of comorbidities a comprehensive and individualized approach is essential.
Objectives: analyze the differences in healthcare, epidemiology, clinical aspects, and therapeutic management of adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PD before and after the establishment of the UEP.
Design: observational, analytical, retrospective and comparative temporal study.
Materials and methods: demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables were collected from the medical records of patients with PD between 2022 and 2025.
Results: following the establishment of the PEU, a more efficient patient recruitment process was observed, with a significant reduction in the number of consultations and the time required for comprehensive evaluation (90 vs. 10 days, p<0.001). The prevalence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) increased significantly (27% vs. 40%, p=0.018), doubling the data reported globally, and a greater number of comorbidities was detected (55% vs. 68%, p=0.008). Furthermore, a tangible impact on therapeutic strategy was recorded with an increase in the use of biological therapies (5% vs. 27%; p<0.001), achieving improvements in clinical outcomes and quality of life.
Conclusions: in our country, research on the interdisciplinary management of patients with EP is limited, which makes this strategy an innovative, reproducible proposal with high clinical impact.
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