Psoriasis is a common chronic and complex inflammatory skin disease that affects over 125 million people worldwide. Management of psoriasis in daily clinical practice in Saudi Arabia is variable. Local preferences for management differ, which may have a bearing on the treatment selection. Biologic therapy is now a well-established strategy for managing moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. There is a clear need for national consensus statements due to the extended role and high availability of literature on these agents. As a result of an initiative of the Ministry of Health, a multidisciplinary expert panel of dermatologists and pharmacists with practical experience in the clinical management of psoriasis were invited to be part of a work group to update the previous practical guidelines on the biologic treatment of psoriasis published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2014. The overall aim of this consensus document is to deliver evidence-based recommendations on the use, screening, and monitoring of biologic therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. These recommendations also address the use of biologic therapy in special patient populations. They were developed after rigorous evaluation of existing international guidelines as well as the latest emerging evidence. Updates of the present consensus document will be provided as needed to incorporate new data or agents.
Keywords: Clinical practice guideline; Saudi Arabia; evidence-based medicine; psoriasis.