Does Adalimumab Effectively Treat Moderate to Severe Chronic Plaque Psoriasis in Adults?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this EBM review is to determine whether or not “Does adalimumab effectively treat moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis in adults?” STUDY DESIGN: This review is based on two randomized controlled trials and one retrospective study. The studies compared the efficacy of adalimumab in reducing the body surface area affected by plaque psoriasis. DATA SOURCES: All articles used in this review are peer reviewed journals, published in English, and found using PubMed and Ebscohost. OUTCOMES MEASURED: For all studies, the effectiveness of adalimumab on moderate to severe plaque psoriasis was evaluated using Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and Physician’s Global Assessment of hand and/or feet (hfPGA). RESULTS: All studies concluded that adalimumab used as monotherapy, or in combination with topical calciptriol/betamethasone proved to be effective in treating moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS: ADA + C/B resulted in more rapid improvement during the first four weeks of treatment vs. ADA monotherapy. There was no statistical difference in the PASI 75 response at week 16 but there was statistical significance in the PASI 90 response. Regardless of patient demographics at baseline, ADA proved to be effective. All treatment regimens were well tolerated