Additional analysis of a global survey conducted and presented earlier this year, as an expert-authored report called Rosacea: Beyond the visible, assists healthcare professionals in identifying the common characteristics of High Burden (HB) rosacea patients. The aim is to increawse tailored treatment regimens to improve patient care.
Results presented during a symposium at the 27^th European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress in Paris, France, yesterday, reveal that a broader definition of HB patients is needed to help reduce burden in daily practice.
The data analysis classified HB patients based on how severely their condition impacts their quality of life (QoL), the extent to which it influences their behavior and their level of desire for a cure.
“People with rosacea are often judged on their appearance, which impacts them greatly in daily life. If their rosacea is severe, the symptoms are likely to be more significant also, from itching and burning to a permanently red central facial area. However, even people with less severe rosacea report a significant impact on quality of life, which suggests that assessing patients on clinical severity alone is not enough,” said Prof. Dr. Uwe Gieler, Dept. of Dermatology and Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany and one of the authors of the Rosacea: Beyond the visible report. “By improving identification of this demographic, dermatologists and other healthcare professionals will be better equipped to tailor treatment to the individual’s needs and ultimately improve care for people living with this chronic skin disease.”
The data revealed HB rosacea patients were significantly younger, employed and more likely to be male, compared to their less HB peers. Another characteristic defined included an increase in skin sensations (such as itching 48 percent vs 37 percent and pain 23 percent vs 13 percent) in comparison with their less HB peers over the last 12 months.
HB risk is affected by severity of symptoms; however, this state can be associated with any severity of rosacea. When looking over 12 months, HB patients were shown to have a significant increase in risk of experiencing an impact on daily activities, such as their skin care regime, as well as experiencing discomfort due to their disease when compared to non-HB patients. Other risk-factors included; a family history of rosacea and an increase of rosacea-related Emergency Rooms visits.
Experts concluded that healthcare professionals treating rosacea patients should include questions relating to burden in everyday practice, to ensure treatment is aligned with patients’ disease experience, not just disease severity.
The presentation is titled “Defining High Burden Patients” (Gieler, U. et al., 27th European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress, 13 September 2018).