The Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) is a tool developed in 1978 by Fredricksson and Pettersson to evaluate the severity of psoriasis. The result of the PASI may vary from 0 to 72. Body Surface Area (BSA) can be used to evaluate the severity of psoriasis. The percentage of BSA affected by psoriasis, with one palm of the patient equivalent to 1%. Also, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) is a10-item survey evaluating the quality of life in patients with psoriasis. Mild disease is defined as: (PASI ≤10, BSA≤10 and DLQI ≤10). Moderate to severe psoriasis is defined as: (PASI > 10, BSA>10 and DLQI >10), or (PASI≤10, BSA≤10 and DLQI>10). Determining disease severity is important for the treatment plan. Patients with mild disease can achieve an acceptable level of symptomatic control by skin care measures and topical therapy. Systemic treatments (conventional or biologics) are necessary for the patients with moderate to severe disease (Finlay, …show more content…
Obesity may have important effects on psoriasis severity and response to therapies. Increased weight and BMI may also negatively impact response to systemic treatments, including biologic therapies and cyclosporine. obese patients with psoriasis may be at increased risk of medication side effects from methotrexate. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a relative contraindication to methotrexate and is more common among obese patients (Takeshita, 2017).
Psoriasis patients with hypertension may have more severe hypertension and may be more likely to have poorly controlled blood pressure than hypertensive patients without psoriasis. As hypertension is a well-known potential adverse effect of cyclosporine, dermatologists should use cyclosporine cautiously in patients with psoriasis who have preexisting hypertension (Takeshita,