Patient-Reported Satisfaction With the Fixed Combination Calcipotriene/Betamethasone Dipropionate Foam for Plaque...

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease characterized by localized scaling and plaques associated with itching and pain. In some cases, topical therapies are effective to treat mild to moderate psoriasis. Topical agents can be used concomitantly with other treatments for moderate and severe or treatment-resistant psoriasis. Patient adherence to medication regimens remains a major challenge in therapy, especially with topical agents, for which adherence can be affected by the amount of time needed for application, the treatment formulation, cost, and cosmetic characteristics. This study was conducted to obtain feedback from patients clinically diagnosed with psoriasis regarding their satisfaction following once-daily topical application of the fixed combination calcipotriene (Cal) 0.005% and betamethasone dipropionate (BD) 0.064% foam for 15 days. Patients completed a 13-question online survey. In this community-based setting of patients with mild to severe psoriasis, patients were satisfied with Cal/BD foam after 15 days of use; 94% were satisfied or highly satisfied with symptom relief. Most of the patients (88%) were satisfied with how Cal/BD foam felt on their skin. After 15 days of use, 94% of patients would recommend Cal/BD foam to other patients with psoriasis, with 73% being very likely to do so. These findings may have important implications for optimizing medical decision-making, treatment adherence, and health outcomes in clinical practice. The cosmetic acceptability of the fixed combination Cal/BD foam formulation and patient satisfaction may make Cal/BD aerosol foam a more acceptable topical treatment than other currently available vehicles for patients with plaque psoriasis. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(8):880-884.