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Updated: Jan 5, 2026
The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Published on: July 11, 2013
Biological therapy for pustular psoriasis: a systematic review
Leyre A Falto-Aizpurua1, Rafael F Martin-Garcia1, Osward Y Carrasquillo1
1Department of Dermatology, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Background:
The anecdotic evidence of the benefits from biologic agents for psoriasis is extensive. However, data on the efficacy of biologic agents for pustular psoriasis are limited.
Methods:
To update the data on the efficacy and safety of biologic agents for the management of pustular psoriasis. A systematic review of published data regarding biologic therapies on PubMED database, used in the management of pustular psoriasis from 2012 was undertaken.
Results:
A total of 209 articles were identified, and 43 articles were selected for inclusion. TNF-α inhibitors were used in 205 patients, and 86 patients received ustekinumab, secukinumab, brodalumab, ixekizumab and IL-1 inhibitors. Overall response was favorable for most modalities. No serious adverse events were reported. Inconsistent measures of treatment response and study variability limited the overall evaluation of data.
Conclusions:
Infliximab and ustekinumab have the most evidence of efficacy and safety for the treatment of pustular psoriasis. Recent evidence supports the use of IL-17 antagonists. Prospective controlled and comparative trials are needed to further explore the efficacy and safety of biologic agents in order to establish objective recommendations for the management of this challenging condition.
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