How Does Pediatric Psoriasis Present?

Discussion Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that is chronic and relapsing with periods of remission. It occurs in genetically susceptible persons and is felt to be triggered by environmental factors including infection (especially Group A, β-hemolytic streptococcus), emotional and physical stress, and skin irritation including friction, rubbing, pressure and scratching. It is common in patients with certain HLA types including HLA-Cw*0602, HLA-Cw6, IL-15 plus others. It occurs in about 1% of the general population with two age-onset peaks: 16-22 years and ~60 years, but can occur at any age. Some studies show differences with girls/women more affected (2:1 over boys/men) and other studies do not support gender differences. Pediatric psoriasis patients are more likely to have a family history of psoriasis than adults. Diagnosis is by clinical features and/or skin biopsy. Treatment is multimodal with education and psychosocial support being important component of this chronic disease. Many treatments in the US are used “off-label” in pediatric patients as they are not approved by the Federal Drug Administration for psoriasis in the pediatric age group. Treatment includes topical, phototherapy, and systemic treatment. Topical treatments include corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors, coal tar, keratolytics, retinoids, Vitamin D3 analogs and anthralin. Phototherapy with UVA and UVB can be used in various manners. Systemic treatments include cyclosporin...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news