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Review
. 2023 Sep 22:13:33-58.
doi: 10.2147/PTT.S400402. eCollection 2023.

Palmoplantar Pustulosis: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors and Therapies

Kristine Heidemeyer  1   2 , Marco May Lee  3 , Simone Cazzaniga  1   2 , Nikhil Yawalkar  1 , Luigi Naldi  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Palmoplantar Pustulosis: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors and Therapies

Kristine Heidemeyer et al. Psoriasis (Auckl). .

Abstract

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a chronic, relapsing, inflammatory disease that can occur alone or in association with arthritis. There is still controversy about whether it should be separated from psoriasis or classified as pustular psoriasis. Furthermore, drug-induced paradoxical PPP is a special variant of PPP that differs from classic PPP in several ways. Treatment of PPP is still challenging, and there are a number of treatment-resistant cases. This review summarizes the risk factors for the development of PPP and the currently available treatment modalities. Female sex, smokers or ex-smokers, obesity, thyroid dysfunction, and treatment with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor have been identified as risk factors for the disease's development, severity, and course. Topical treatments and phototherapy are effective for some patients and are used as a first-line or adjuvant treatment modality. Conventional treatments including retinoids and fumaric acid show good effects and can increase the efficacy of treatment with psoralen + ultraviolet light therapy (PUVA). Ciclosporin is fast acting, but relapse mostly occurs immediately after cessation. TNF-α inhibitors are efficient, and an even better response can be achieved with IL-17 and IL-23 blockers as well as apremilast. The effect of Janus kinase inhibitors seems to be promising according to case reports, but further investigations with larger cohorts are needed.

Keywords: palmoplantar; psoriasis; pustulosis; risk factors; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Kristine Heidemeyer reports personal fees from Sanofi, Amgen, Almirall, UCB, and Abbvie, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Nikhil Yawalkar reports personal fees from Abbvie, Almirall, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, MSD, Janssen, Leo, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Identification of studies via databases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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