Biologic Treatment Adherence and Persistence in Patients with Palmoplantar Pustulosis: A Real-World, Claims-Based...

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a debilitating skin condition characterized by pustules, erythema, and scales on the palms and soles. Treatment adherence in psoriatic diseases is suboptimal.

A retrospective cohort study, using healthcare claims data from patients aged ≥ 18 years with newly diagnosed PPP (selected between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2020 from IBM^® MarketScan^® Commercial and the Optum^® Clinformatics^® Data Mart databases), was conducted to investigate adherence to and persistence with biologics in patients with PPP.

Biologics were dispensed to 114/840 (13.6%) MarketScan and 76/750 (10.1%) Optum patients. Mean proportion of days covered (PDC; range) for biologics was similar between databases (MarketScan, 66% [8-100%]; Optum, 61% [8-99%]), and good adherence (≥ 80% PDC) was infrequent (MarketScan, 42.1%; Optum, 34.2%). Mean (standard deviation) persistence was slightly longer in MarketScan (283 [121] days) versus Optum (275 [133] days). Mean (range) adherence was similar between ages, although persistence was longer in patients aged 18-64 versus ≥ 65 years (279 [132] vs 258 [140] days).

In patients with PPP, adherence to biologics was poor and persistence was variable; understanding and addressing the reasons behind these observations may improve treatment outcomes.