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Psoriasis is a skin disorder characterized by chronic inflammation driven by different immunologic pathways, among which the IL-23/Th17 axis plays a pivotal role. For this reason, the use of IL23p19 inhibitors in psoriasis treatment has been evaluated over the years. Guselkumab, a totally human IgG1 lambda monoclonal antibody, that selectively blocks the p 19 subunit of IL- 23 has demonstrated high efficacy and safety throughout several, randomized, double-blind phase III trials (VOYAGE 1 and 2, NAVIGATE and ECLIPSE). We designed a single-center retrospective cohort study in a population consisting of 46 patients followed from December 2018 to April 2021. After a diagnosis of moderate to severe psoriasis, all the patients were considered suitable to receive treatment with Guselkumab. In our population, among those who achieved clinical improvement in terms of Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), PASI 75, 90, and 100 were achieved on average on weeks 14, 19, 21 respectively. We then analyzed a subgroup of our population, consisting of 35 patients, who had an identical follow-up time of 28 weeks, thus observing the trend in mean PASI at subsequent assessments and the number of patients who had reached PASI 75, PASI 90, and PASI 100 at week 4 (10; 3; 1), week 12 (12; 13; 11), week 20 (7; 6; 2), and week 28 (1; 4; 6), respectively. The results obtained are in line with those obtained from previous studies, thus confirming that Guselkumab is an excellent choice in terms of security, long-term efficacy, and overall tolerance.

Background The management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) flares with intralesional steroids lacks strong scientific evidence but limited data suggest that it may be useful. Objective To assess the clinical and ultrasound responses of HS flares to ultrasound-guided injections of intralesional triamcinolone (40 mg/mL) with a dilution 1:4 vs 1:2 at 30-day (t1), 60-day (t2) and 90-day (t3) follow-up. Materials and methods We recruited patients with ≤3 acute lesions, unresponsive to topical therapy. At baseline we assessed lesions clinically and by ultra-high frequency ultrasound (48 or 70MHz) and randomly performed an ultrasound-guided injection of triamcinolone. Assessments were repeated at t1, t2 and t3 follow-up, re-injecting the lesion in the case of no or partial response. Results We treated 49 lesions: 38.8% showed improvements at t1; 46.9% at t2; 6% at t3; and 8.3% showed no clinical and ultrasound improvements. Long-term follow-up data confirmed a statistically significant reduction in VAS-pain, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and HS-Physician Global Assessment (HS-PGA), as well as edema and vascular signals. No adverse effects were reported. Conclusions Our study suggests that ultrasound-injections with a 1:2 dilution are beneficial for HS flares that do not respond to topical treatment and should be included in the therapeutic algorithm. The preliminary results of this study were presented during the European Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation 2020 meeting in Athens and the abstract will be published in the supplements of Experimental Dermatology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Pressure ulcers represent a major health problem causing a considerable amount of suffering for patients and a high financial burden for healthcare systems. The geriatric population with an increased risk of pressure ulcer development is rising constantly as a result of chronic degenerative diseases that can lead to prolonged immobilization and poor nutrition. Evidence clearly indicates that preventive measures are essential to reduce the prevalence rates of pressure ulcers; therefore healthcare professionals must be able to identify the appropriate strategies to adopt, in order to meet the individual patient's requirements. Important advances have taken place in the world of pressure ulcer treatment during the past decade. These advances are reflected in the high rate of cures being obtained. This, together with the implementation of prevention guidelines, the excellent cost/effectiveness relationship of the techniques described, and other factors, means that the field of pressure ulcers management is no more an isolated and self-administered issue in medical practice. The areas discussed here are those in which there will be linear or, in some cases, exponential growth in the decades to come.

Acitretin is one of the systemic agents used for the treatment of psoriasis. Because different acitretin dosages resulted therapeutically successful, there is no general agreement on the optimal dose regimen. To report acitretin efficacy and safety in a real-life setting, wherein patient-tailored dose regimen is usually prescribed, a retrospective analysis evaluating charts of all plaque-type psoriasis patients treated with acitretin from the clinic database was performed. PASI score improvement, as well as PASI 50, 75, 90, and 100 responses were assessed throughout the observational period. Overall, 52% PASI score reduction and a satisfactory safety profile were detected. PASI 50, 75, 90, and 100 response was achieved by 53%, 48%, 28%, and 14%, respectively. Treatment consisted on a mean daily acitretin dose of 25.01 mg. The initial dose was increased (51.2% of cases) or decreased (48.8%) prescribing a mean daily dose of 29.8 mg and 20.02 mg, respectively. This study proposed a dose regimen customized on clinical response and patient's needs, to optimized acitretin benefit.