Psoriasis and psoriasiform lesions induced by TNFα antagonists: the experience of a tertiary care hospital from northern Spain

The aim of this study was to investigate the cumulated incidence and clinical characteristics of the psoriasiform lesions seen in a wide cohort of rheumatic patients exposed to anti-TNFα drugs in a tertiary care hospital from northern Spain. The study population included 450 patients exposed to anti-TNFα agents from 2001 to 2007 and treated in a university hospital in northern Spain. Two hundred patients were exposed to infliximab (44%), 129 (29%) to etanercept, and 121 (27%) to adalimumab. The cumulated incidence (CI) of this skin reaction was calculated for each of the three agents studied. Psoriasis and psoriasiform lesions were documented in 7 patients diagnosed with different rheumatic inflammatory conditions (1.56%). Cases of this adverse effect were identified with all three anti-TNFα agents available at that time, but less frequently with infliximab (CI: 0.5%) compared with etanercept (CI: 2.3%) or adalimumab (CI: 2.5%). The most common lesion was palmoplantar pustulosis (71.3% of the cases), and the latency period to the development of the lesions ranged from 4 to 38 months (mean 9 months). In four of the 7 patients, treatment was suspended, while in the remaining three patients treatment was continued. The CI of this skin reaction in our setting is similar to that published by others. Infliximab was found to be less frequently associated with this adverse event. In our experience, it is not always necessary to stop anti-TNFα therapy for the skin lesions to improve.