Treatment Options For Pediatric Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a multifactorial inflammatory papulosquamous disease affecting 0.5% to 2% of the pediatric population. Pediatric psoriasis, presenting similar to adult psoriasis, significantly reduces patient quality of life, often requiring an individualized treatment approach for each patient. Combination and rotational therapy are helpful in reducing toxicity and maximizing efficacy. Patients with mild and limited disease severity respond well to topical treatment with steroids or vitamin D analogues, unlike moderate and severe psoriasis where sufficient remission is rarely achieved. Therefore phototherapy, systemic immunomodulators, or biologic agents are the next line of treatment to be considered. There is limited data available on the use and long-term safety of biologics in the pediatric population. Biologic agents must be administered by experienced dermatologists, only in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are intolerant or refractory to other systemic conventional disease-modifying treatment or phototherapy, or if those treatments are contraindicated.