Management of dupilumab-associated ocular surface diseases in atopic dermatitis patients.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterised by eczematous skin lesions and intense pruritus. It is often associated with other atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, bronchial asthma and eosinophilic oesophagitis. Dupilumab is the first biologic approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in Switzerland.

Symmetrical Facial Giant Plaque-Type Juvenile Xanthogranuloma: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is the most common type of non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis. JXG is a rare benign tumor, which may be present at birth or develop later. The classical form of JXG is characterized by a red-yellowish benign papule or nodule with predilection sites on the head, neck, and trunk, although lesions can appear on extremities or extracutaneous sites.

Secukinumab for the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis: Physical and pharmacological properties underlie the observed clinical efficacy and safety.

Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis are systemic inflammatory diseases, each commonly manifesting as a spectrum of symptoms, complications, and comorbidities that arise differently in individual patients. Drugs targeting inflammatory cytokines common to the pathogenesis of each of these conditions have been developed, although their specific actions in the different tissues involved are variable. For a drug to be effective, it must be efficiently delivered to and locally bioactive in disease-relevant tissues.

Association of sex and systemic therapy treatment outcomes in psoriasis: a two-country, multicentre, prospective, noninterventional registry study.

Background: Few systematic data on sex-related treatment responses exist for psoriasis.

Objectives: To evaluate sex differences with respect to systemic antipsoriatic treatment.

Methods: Data from patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in the PsoBest or Swiss Dermatology Network of Targeted Therapies (SDNTT) registries were analysed.

Topical Treatment of Psoriasis Vulgaris: The Swiss Treatment Pathway.

Topical treatment is crucial for the successful management of plaque psoriasis. Topicals are used either as a stand-alone therapy for mild psoriasis or else in combination with UV or systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe disease. For the choice of a suitable topical treatment, the formulation matters and not just the active substances.

Syphilis Reactivates Latent Epstein-Barr Virus Reservoir via Toll-Like Receptor 2 and B-Cell Receptor Activation.

Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection can clinically reactivate in immunosuppressed individuals causing lymphoproliferative disease and rarely hepatitis. In this study, we provide in vivo and in vitro evidence that infection can cause EBV reactivation with hepatitis in an immunocompetent patient. We report the diagnostic challenges and immunological findings of coinciding syphilis and EBV-associated hepatitis.

Linkage between patients' characteristics and prescribed systemic treatments for psoriasis: a semantic connectivity map analysis of the Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies registry.

Background: Several treatment options are currently available for the treatment of psoriasis.

Objective: To explore the main associations between patients' characteristics and systemic treatments prescribed for psoriasis in a large group of patients observed in real-life clinical practice.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of baseline data collected within the Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies registry in Switzerland between March 2011 and December 2017.

Effectiveness of methotrexate in moderate to severe psoriasis patients: real-world registry data from the Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies (SDNTT).

Methotrexate (MTX) is a frequently used anti-psoriatic drug that is commonly recommended in international psoriasis guidelines. It is effective in treating skin lesions, nail changes and psoriatic arthritis. In 2017 a prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, commonly known as the METOP trial, was published assessing the effectiveness and safety of subcutaneous administration of methotrexate.

Gender and age significantly determine patient needs and treatment goals in psoriasis - a lesson for practice.

Background: Though patient needs are key drivers of treatment decisions, they are rarely systematically investigated in routine care.

Objective: This study aimed at analysing needs and expectations from the patient perspective in the German and Swiss psoriasis registries PsoBest and Swiss Dermatology Network of Targeted Therapies (SDNTT) with respect to treatment choice, age and gender.

Methods: The German and Swiss psoriasis registries observe patients recruited at first-time use of systemic drugs.

Do Patients With Skin Psoriasis Show Subclinical Axial Inflammation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Sacroiliac Joints and Entire Spine?

Objective: To explore potential subclinical involvement of the axial skeleton by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the sacroiliac (SI) joints and the entire spine in patients with skin psoriasis without clinical evidence of peripheral or axial inflammation.

Methods: Twenty patients with skin psoriasis but no clinical evidence of peripheral or axial inflammation and 22 healthy controls underwent standardized dermatologic and rheumatologic clinical examination and unenhanced 1.5T MRI of the SI joint and the entire spine.

Immune system correlates of extensive limb swelling in response to conjugated pneumococcal vaccination.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is recommended for adults with chronic disease. Extensive limb swelling (ELS) is an acute vigorous local inflammatory reaction following vaccination. Predisposing immune system correlates and the influence of ELS on vaccine responses are not known.

Swiss S1 guideline for the treatment of rosacea.

Rosacea (in German sometimes called 'Kupferfinne', in French 'Couperose' and in Italian 'Copparosa') is a chronic and frequently relapsing inflammatory skin disease primarily affecting the central areas of the face. Its geographic prevalence varies from 1% to 22%. The differential diagnosis is wide, and the treatment is sometimes difficult and varies by stage of rosacea.

Superiority in Quality of Life Improvement of Biologics over Conventional Systemic Drugs in a Swiss Real-Life Psoriasis Registry.

Background: Randomized controlled trials have shown the efficacy of systemic treatments in moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Clinical outcomes in psoriasis patients under real-world conditions are less well understood.

Objective: This study compared Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI) improvement in all psoriasis patients registered in the Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies.

Efficacy and Survival of Systemic Psoriasis Treatments: An Analysis of the Swiss Registry SDNTT.

Background: The Swiss psoriasis registry SDNTT (Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies) records the long-term safety and effectiveness of systemic treatment regimens for psoriasis.

Patients And Methods: Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis are included in the SDNTT when treatment with a conventional systemic agent or biologic is initiated that was not previously used by the respective patient. Patients are followed over a 5-year period.

Simplifying the WHO 'how to hand rub' technique: three steps are as effective as six-results from an experimental randomized crossover trial.

Objectives: The World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines on hand hygiene recommending a six-step 'how to hand rub' technique for applying alcohol-based hand rub. However, adherence to all six steps is poor. We assessed a simplified three-step technique and compared it to the conventional WHO six-step technique in terms of bacterial count reduction on healthcare workers' hands.

Swiss S1 Guidelines on the Systemic Treatment of Psoriasis Vulgaris.

Psoriasis vulgaris is a common, chronic inflammatory skin disease with a prevalence of 1.5-2% in Western industrialized countries. A relevant percentage of patients suffer from moderate-to-severe psoriasis and experience a significant reduction in quality of life.

Incidence and predictors of cutaneous manifestations during the early course of systemic sclerosis: a 10-year longitudinal study from the EUSTAR database.

Objectives: To longitudinally map the onset and identify risk factors for skin sclerosis and digital ulcers (DUs) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) from an early time point after the onset of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort.

Methods: 695 patients with SSc with a baseline visit within 1 year after RP onset were followed in the prospective multinational EUSTAR database. During the 10-year observation period, cumulative probabilities of cutaneous lesions were assessed with the Kaplan-Meier method.

The dermatologists' role in managing psoriatic arthritis: results of a Swiss Delphi exercise intended to improve collaboration with rheumatologists.

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) substantially impacts the management of psoriatic disease.

Objective: This study aimed to generate an interdisciplinary national consensus on recommendations of how PsA should be managed.

Methods: Based on a systematic literature search, an interdisciplinary expert group identified important domains and went through 3 rounds of a Delphi exercise, followed by a nominal group discussion to generate specific recommendations.