NEW METHOD FOR DETERMINING PROGNOSIS OF PATIENTS WITH PSORIASIS (E-PAP)

We developed a new method for evaluating clinical symptoms of psoriasi s during the observation period, by adding a parameter of time (the nu mber of days) to the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI). This me thod was named the evaluation for prognosis with averaged PASI (E-PAP) . Using this method, we assessed 14 cases to determine the following i tems: (1) clinical symptoms during the observation period; (2) clinica l effects of treatments; (3) patient's satisfaction with treatments; a nd (4) necessity for additional and/or alternate treatments. We evalua ted the usefulness of E-PAP in determining the prognosis of patients w ith psoriasis by comparing the uninterrupted monotherapy and intermitt ent therapy with cyclosporin A (Cys A). Although there were no differe nces in Cys A dosages after-remission as well as adverse reactions bet ween the two groups, the E-PAP value was significantly different betwe en them. These results suggest that this method may be useful for dete rmining the prognosis of patients with psoriasis. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience Ireland Ltd.