Patients’ perspectives in the management of psoriasis: the Italian results of the Multinational Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (MAPP) survey

PURPOSE: The perspective of patients with psoriasis about medical care treatment goals and strategies is receiving increasing attention. Here, we performed a country-based analysis of the Multinational Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (MAPP) survey, in order to provide specific information on patients' perspective of treatment of psoriasis in Italy. METHODS: This was a systematic household telephone survey recruiting subjects by random digit dialing. Household members ≥18 years were included if they had ever been diagnosed with psoriasis. RESULTS: About 12,785 households were screened in Italy. 132 patients were ineligible for the analysis, including patients with psoriatic arthritis. 359 patients were surveyed. About half of the patients had very mild disease with less than 1 palm skin involvement, and 38% had 1-10 palm skin disease. It is noteworthy that 48% of patients with widespread disease were not taking any medication. Patients indicated the relief of symptoms, including itching (54.9%), as the main goal for their current therapy, whereas 14.2% reported no specific expectation from their medication. Overall, 70% of patients declared to be satisfied by their therapy, in terms of primary goal reached. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that most psoriasis patients have mild/moderate disease in Italy, and that a portion of patients with severe disease does not receive an adequate treatment.