Long‐term adherence to topical psoriasis treatment can be abysmal: a 1‐year randomized intervention study using objective electronic adherence monitoring

Summary Background Most people with psoriasis have limited disease that could be treated with topicals, but topical efficacy is limited by low short‐term adherence. Psoriasis is a chronic disease, and long‐term adherence is an even bigger problem. Objectives To determine how well medication is used in the long‐term topical treatment of psoriasis and to assess the potential of an internet‐based reporting intervention to improve treatment adherence and outcomes. Methods An investigator‐blinded, prospective study evaluated topical fluocinonide adherence in 40 patients with mild‐to‐moderate psoriasis over 12 months. Subjects were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio to standard‐of‐care or internet‐based reporting group. Adherence was objectively monitored with Medication Event Monitoring System® caps. Results Fifty per cent of subjects discontinued the treatment. Greater adherence was seen in the intervention group compared with the standard‐of‐care group (50% vs. 35%, P = 0·08). Psoriasis Area and Severity Index improved more in the intervention group at month 1 (1·61 vs. −0·12, P = 0·003), month 3 (2·50 vs. 0·79, P = 0·025) and month 12 (3·32 vs. 0·34, P = 0·038) than in the standard‐of‐care group. Conclusions This study likely underestimates the challenge of long‐term adherence, as adherence tends to be better in research studies than in clinical practice. This study also did not fully account for primary nonadherence. Adherence to topical treatment is low in the short term and decreased further in the long term, a considerable challenge for dermatologists to address. A reporting intervention may be one of the ways we can improve our patients’ treatment outcomes. What's already known about this topic? We already know that short‐term adherence to topical medication is poor, but there is too little information about patients’ long‐term use of treatment. Understanding long‐term adherence to topical treatment of chronic skin diseases is essential. What does this study add? Long‐term adherence to topical treatment is abysmal and measures that physicians can take to improve adherence have the potential to provide major improvements in patients’ treatment outcomes. A reporting intervention can have large effects on short‐term adherence, but effects on long‐term adherence attenuate over time. Plain language summary available online