Social media is an outlet for patients to share medical experiences with a large audience. However, the impact of such content on individual patient treatment decisions has yet to be fully explored. We characterized patient experiences posted on social media surrounding biologic use for skin psoriasis. We analyzed content from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok and identified patient experiences with a variety of biologics, most commonly Humira (20.7%), Cosentyx (14.0%), and Stelara (14.0%). The biologic was described as burdensome in about half of all videos/posts (46.4%), and the most commonly cited reasons included adverse effects or abnormal blood tests (12.8%), cost or insurance issues (11.7%), lack or loss of efficacy (11.7%), and pain with injection or injection site reaction (11.7%). Nevertheless, the majority (60.9%) of videos/posts reported an overall positive experience with a biologic for their skin psoriasis, which may inspire reluctant patients to try a biologic recommended by their physician.
Keywords: Social media; patient attitudes; patient perceptions; psoriasis biologics.