@article{3101243,
    title = "Improvement of health-related quality of life and adherence to treatment with calcipotriol-betamethasone dipropionate gel in patients with psoriasis vulgaris",
    author = "Kontochristopoulos, G. and Chantzaras, A. and Yfantopoulos, J. and Kouris, A. and Petridis, A.",
    journal = "Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia",
    year = "2016",
    volume = "91",
    number = "2",
    pages = "160-166",
    publisher = "Sociedade Brasileira de Dermatologia",
    issn = "0365-0596, 1806-4841",
    doi = "10.1590/abd1806-4841.20164476",
    keywords = "betamethasone dipropionate plus calcipotriol;  betamethasone;  betamethasone dipropionate, calcipotriol drug combination;  calcitriol;  dermatological agent;  drug combination;  gel, adult;  aged;  Article;  clinical trial;  Dermatology Life Quality Index;  disease severity;  drug efficacy;  drug safety;  erythema;  female;  human;  major clinical study;  male;  middle aged;  multicenter study;  patient compliance;  prospective study;  pruritus;  psoriasis vulgaris;  quality of life;  treatment outcome;  Wilcoxon signed ranks test;  young adult;  adolescent;  analogs and derivatives;  drug combination;  gel;  Greece;  medication compliance;  nonparametric test;  pathology;  psoriasis;  psychology;  questionnaire;  severity of illness index;  statistics and numerical data;  time factor, Adolescent;  Adult;  Aged;  Betamethasone;  Calcitriol;  Dermatologic Agents;  Drug Combinations;  Female;  Gels;  Greece;  Humans;  Male;  Medication Adherence;  Middle Aged;  Prospective Studies;  Psoriasis;  Quality of Life;  Severity of Illness Index;  Statistics, Nonparametric;  Surveys and Questionnaires;  Time Factors;  Treatment Outcome;  Young Adult",
    abstract = "Background: Psoriasis is a common, chronic, recurrent, immune-mediated disorder of the skin and joints. It can have a significant negative impact on the physical, emotional and psychosocial wellbeing of affected patients. Objectives: To measure improvement in health-related QoL (HRQoL) in Greek patients with psoriasis vulgaris after a month of treatment with calcipotriol-betamethasone dipropionate gel; and evaluate adherence to treatment parameters. Methods: The study included 394 psoriasis vulgaris patients from 16 private dermatological practices in Greece, all treated with calcipotriol-betamethasone dipropionate gel. They were evaluated at the first visit and after 4 weeks. Moreover, they completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), while other data such as disease severity, subjective symptoms and adherence, were collected. Results: At week 4, the DLQI median was reduced by 3.5 points from the baseline (p<0.001; baseline and week 4 median: 4.5 and 1.0 respectively). Pruritus and sleep disorders also improved (p<0.001). Furthermore, 90.1% of the subjects fully adhered to treatment, with a 97.1% mean level of compliance. Conclusions: The convincing clinical results, with a distinct improvement in HRQoL, plus the high level of adherence due to its advantageous physical properties, make the calcipotriol-betamethasone dipropionate gel formulation an important, effective and well-tolerated topical therapy to treat psoriasis. © 2016 by Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia."
}