Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Care Conduct and Psychological Burden Among Patients With Psoriasis:Real-World Data From a Tertiary Hospital in China

Objective:The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)epidemic has caused extensive damage worldwide.We explored whether the medical care conduct of patients with psoriasis has changed and whether the COVID-19 epidemic has placed more psychological pressure on these patients.Methods:A questionnaire survey was administered to patients with psoriasis in the Dermatology Department of Peking University Third Hospital in July 2022.Information about the patients’general demographics,psoriasis condition,mental state of anxiety(Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7[GAD-7]score),changes in medical care conduct,and Concerns about COVID-19-Related Risk Score for Psoriasis(CCRSP,a self-designed questionnaire)was collected.Univariate analysis with the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables was used in the estimation of statistical differences.Results:A total of 112 patients with psoriasis completed the survey.Purchasing medicine was the factor that added difficulty for most participants(32.1%).Fewer participants(26.8%)encountered medical registration difficulties than economic and transportation difficulties.Nearly three-quarters of participants(73.2%)reported at least one medical care conduct change resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic.A small proportion of participants(12.5%)thought that COVID-19 prevented them from seeking medical services for psoriasis.The top three items that caused the most concern were psoriasis aggravation resulting from drug reduction and withdrawal because of COVID-19(44.7%),psoriasis aggravation after infection with COVID-19(38.4%),and psoriasis-related side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine(35.7%).The GAD-7 score of patients with a high CCRSP(score of>10)was significantly higher than that of patients with a low CCRSP(score of≤10)(nonparametric test,P=0.047).Conclusion:COVID-19 poses challenges and places a mental burden on patients with psoriasis.Doctors should regulate the medical behavior of patients with psoriasis according to their specific COVID-19 situation and help patients ease their anxiety to maintain the stability of their psoriasis condition.