Economic burden of palmoplantar pustulosis in Sweden – a population-based register study

Löfvendahl S, Norlin JM, Schmitt-Egenolf M

The study aimed to estimate the economic burden of palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) in Sweden. PPP is a chronic relapsing skin condition commonly occurring in combination with psoriasis vulgaris.

The study used data from the Swedish National Patient Register and Swedish Prescribed Drug Register for 2015 and estimated the all-cause and PPP-specific healthcare resource use (inpatient stays, physician visits and drug use) for 14,715 PPP patients compared to both matched controls from the general population (n=67,750) and patients with psoriasis vulgaris and without PPP (n=41,933).

Mean annual direct cost for a PPP patient was higher than for a person from the general population (3,000 vs 1,700 Euro, p<0.001). Compared to patients with psoriasis vulgaris, more PPP patients had inpatient stays, but fewer had physician visits and psoriasis-related drugs; the total costs were similar between PPP and psoriasis vulgaris. Only a small fraction of costs of physician visits and inpatient stays for PPP patients were attributable to specific PPP problems, indicating a clear comorbidity burden in PPP.

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Acta Dermato Venereologica, 2023;103
Published Online: January 9, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v103.4501