Announcer:
This is ReachMD, and you’re listening to Psoriasis: What’s Beneath the Surface, sponsored by Lilly.
Dr. Birnholz:
From the ReachMD studios, I’m Dr. Matt Birnholz. On this episode, we spoke with Dr. Jonathan Weiss, dermatologist and adjunct assistant clinical professor of Dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Weiss joins us to share his recommendation to other clinicians when it comes to treating patients with palmoplantar psoriasis.
Dr. Weiss:
The most important point that I would make to a clinician regarding palmoplantar psoriasis is the need to get it under control as quickly as possible and to be very aggressive with treatment. Palmoplantar psoriasis is so debilitating to some of our patients that we need to be aware of the impact on the patient, and speed and aggressiveness is key in making them feel better. I think it’s important to think systemic treatment right out of the box, whether it’s oral treatment, whether it’s oral combined with topical treatment, or even biologic treatment, very key to get to the root of the problem quickly for the patient and to make them better.
Another point that I would make about palmoplantar psoriasis is that we don’t often take it seriously enough. We have to realize this is affecting patients’ lives on a daily basis with everything they do, from waking up in the morning, to hitting their alarm clock, to interacting with other people, to the most basic self-care issues that they might have—brushing their teeth, washing their face. You absolutely have to be aggressive in thinking about it from the patient’s point of view and not just how you might want to take care of it.
I think it’s important to individualize the biologic medication that you’re using for the patient. Most any of them can work when dealing with palmoplantar psoriasis, but you want to know what is their history with the different biologics, if they have ever been on one before, if that biologic helped or didn’t help the palmoplantar psoriasis or whether it maybe even made it worse. Some patients you want to go low and slow with the most tested biologics that have been out there a long time, and in others you want to be rather aggressive and go out with some of the newest biologics that haven’t been out quite as long.
Dr. Birnholz:
That was Dr. Jonathan Weiss from Emory University School of Medicine. From the ReachMD studios, I’m Dr. Matt Birnholz. Thanks for listening.
Announcer:
The preceding program was sponsored by Lilly. Content for this series is produced and controlled by ReachMD. This series is intended for healthcare professionals only. To revisit any part of this discussion and to access other episodes in this series, visit ReachMD.com/ beneaththesurface. Thank you for listening to ReachMD. Be Part of the Knowledge.
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