Consensus on key issues relevant to the community

Portland, Oregon – August 19, 2020

As COVID-19 continues to impact the day to day lives of people worldwide, the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) continues to provide guidance and recommendations for people with psoriatic disease during this public health crisis. The NPF COVID-19 Task Force, consisting of experts in dermatology, rheumatology, infectious disease and critical care remain an expert resource, closely monitoring the evolving situation.

The most recent update is the result of a modified Delphi process that was conducted asking the Task Force members to provide consensus on important questions posed by patients and providers. As part of this process, the Task Force co-chairs completed weekly literature searches for COVID-19 in relation to psoriatic disease. Using this evidence-based information, guidance statements were developed and underwent 2 rounds of voting with discussion in between. The Task Force members reached consensus on 22 guidance statements for the psoriatic disease community, with 9 statements receiving high consensus and the remaining 13 statements receiving moderate consensus.

Health care providers and patients are encouraged to visit NPF’s COVID-19 Resource Center for the latest guidance from the Task Force, in order to promote optimal care and outcomes for patients with psoriatic disease during the pandemic.

The 22 guidance statements are answers to five questions, categorized as follows:

·         Category 1: What are the effects of psoriatic disease itself on SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness?

·         Category 2: What are the effects of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis treatment on SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness?

·         Category 3: How should medical care be delivered to patients with psoriatic disease to lower their risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 while still ensuring quality of care?

·         Category 4: What should patients with psoriatic disease do to protect themselves from becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2?

·         Category 5: What should patients with psoriatic disease do if they become infected with COVID-19?

Full recommendations can be accessed here.  Full methods, results and discussion are in preparation for publication.

NPF launched its COVID-19 Task Force in May 2020, with the charge to identify critical needs for the psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis community related to the pandemic and to serve as an expert resource to NPF in an advisory capacity. These guidance statements are a result of a formal and significant effort to support the psoriatic disease community and are an update to previous recommendations. These guidance statements will be updated and refined as necessary, as informed by the rapidly evolving research related to COVID-19. emerges.

Serving its community through more than 50 years of patient support, advocacy, research, education and funding, the National Psoriasis Foundation, NPF, is the world’s leading nonprofit fighting for individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The NPF mission is to drive efforts to cure psoriatic disease and dramatically improve the lives of more than 8 million individuals in the United States affected by this chronic immune-mediated disease. As part of that effort, NPF created its Patient Navigation Center to offer personalized assistance to everyone with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. To date, NPF has funded more than $24 million in research grants and fellowships that help drive discoveries that may lead to more and better treatments and ultimately a cure. Learn more at psoriasis.org