Background: The aim of the present scientific study is the description of the current healthcare situation for children and adolescents with psoriasis in Germany.
Methods: Data on psoriasis in children and adolescents (≤ 18) was obtained from randomly selected dermatologists and pediatricians throughout Germany. The participating doctors could include 1-3 patients from the year 2009 into the study.
Results: The response rate to the survey was 9.7% for dermatologists and 1.9% for pediatricians. The study shows that psoriatic children and adolescents (n = 244) are treated primarily by dermatologists. With regard to the therapy approaches, 79.9% of the children and adolescents were treated with topical agents, 7.5% with physical modalities and 5.0% with systemic agents.
Conclusion: Psoriasis in childhood and adolescence is treated predominantly by dermatologists. Most of the patients were treated with topical corticosteroids. Childhood psoriasis is still a therapeutic challenge and further studies about the healthcare situation are necessary.