Background: Psoriasis affects approximately 500,000 Canadians. Eight treatments are currently licensed for chronic plaque psoriasis in Canada.
Objective: To compare the efficacy of systemic treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis for the outcome > 75% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) using network meta-analysis.
Methods: PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched up until October 15, 2013, for phase III clinical trials. A consistency model based on a random-effects bayesian statistical framework was used to compare the rates of > 75% PASI reduction across trials.
Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the network analysis. Infliximab had significantly greater odds of producing > 75% reduction in the PASI compared to all treatments. All treatments conferred greater odds of > 75% PASI reduction compared to placebo.
Conclusion: Although infliximab had the highest efficacy relative to other systemic treatments for psoriasis, adverse effects, cost, and patient preferences should also be considered when deciding on treatment.