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Evaluation of Spa Therapy in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis

Evaluation of Spa Therapy in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis, a Randomized, Controlled, Open Multicenter Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02098213
Enrollment
128
Registered
2014-03-27
Start date
2015-01-31
Completion date
2019-12-31
Last updated
2020-01-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Plaque Psoriasis

Keywords

plaque psoriasis, DLQI, VQ Dermato, PASI, PASI change, phototherapy, balneotherapy, hydrotherapy, Euroquol EQ 5d scale, Visual analogic scale, SPA treatment Scale, PSS

Brief summary

Assessment of quality of life after Spa therapy (4 ½ months follow-up) in the treatment of plaque psoriasis: Spa versus usual care in patients with plaque psoriasis.

Detailed description

Psoriasis is one of the most common skin diseases, affecting 2-3% of the general population; more than 1 million people in France. This auto-immune erythematosquamous inflammatory dermatosis occurs on a particular genetic background and has a chronic course. Psoriasis has a history as an indication for dermatological spa treatment (water cures in the Dead Sea). As these treatments are a combination of balneotherapy and heliotherapy, many recent studies have attempted to assess the value and position the relative benefit of each therapeutic element. Over the last four decades various different phototherapy techniques have been widely used in the treatment of psoriasis. The thermal option for many psoriasis patients depends on personal choice, or their doctor's or dermatologist's recommendation. In 1994 only one third of the 16,875 spa treatments for dermatological conditions (about 5625 cures) were for psoriasis, suggesting that spa treatment is underused as a treatment for psoriasis. Nobody can challenge the therapeutic contribution of biotherapy in the treatment of anatomically destructive diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, but the use of these treatments is not without risk and economic impact. There is thus a need for less intensive treatments that have little risk of serious side effects and are less expensive. The use of spa therapy in psoriasis should be understood as complementary and not an alternative to all other treatments. The choice of treatment is guided by the patient's characteristics and pathology (concomitant diseases, extent of lesions, treatment history) and the specialty (adverse effects, cumulative dose). In psoriasis it may be necessary to use different lines of treatment because psoriasis is a lifetime disease. Side effects of systemic treatments such as biotherapy, cyclosporine, methotrexate, synthetic retinoids, and also phototherapy (PUVA and UVB) are cumulative over time. A course of spa treatment should allow a respite before resorting to other systemic therapy. However, the spa dermatology still suffers from a lack of large-scale evaluation and especially an objective assessment using reliable methodologies that limit bias. This is the purpose of this study. There are no randomized controlled multicenter clinical trials evaluating spa treatment for psoriasis, although an Italian non-randomized study included a few dozen patients and confirmed the clinical benefit of the treatment.

Interventions

soon after randomization: Spa treatment of 3 weeks. Spa treatment : that best adapted to the concerned pathology and common to all participating of spa resorts (walk in a specially pool, whirlpool bath with automatic air and water massages cycles, massaging shower etc)

soon after 4,5 months visit: Spa treatment of 3 weeks. Spa treatment : that best adapted to the concerned pathology and common to all of spa resorts (walk in a specially pool, whirlpool bath with automatic air and water massages cycles, massaging shower etc)

Sponsors

University Hospital, Grenoble
CollaboratorOTHER
Floralis
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Association Francaise pour la Recherche Thermale
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Taking into account the hypothesis of a proportion of patients with a DLQI≤10 (absence of repercussion or low impact of psoriasis on quality of life) of 25% at 4 months 1/2 in the arm immediate spa treatment versus 10% in the usual care group (late spa treatment), 113 patients per group is required, with an alpha 5% risk and a power of 80 %. Given the risk of potential patients lost to follow-up estimates of 15%, we plan to include 130 patients per randomisation group, so 260 patients in total. According to the protocol submitted to authorities, given the uncertainties of necessary hypothesis, a re-evaluation of the number of subjects required after the first 100 inclusions is planned. This reassessment will be carried out without intermediate analysis but in view of the results observed for the primary endpoint in mean and standard deviation (event driven).

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Both sexes, over 18 years of age, patients with plaque psoriasis for more than one year diagnosed by a dermatologist * Stable treatment in the last 6 months * DLQI score \> 10 * patients volunteering for spa treatment within 6 weeks * consenting to participate to the study with informed consent form signed after appropriate information * Affiliation to the French social security system or equivalent

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy, parturient or breast feeding * Psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance * Refusal of consent * Refusal of spa treatment * Contra-indication to spa treatment * Phototherapy in the last 3 months * Guttate, pustular or erythrodermic psoriasis Isolated nail psoriasis * Spa therapy in the past year * Person deprived of liberty or under legal guardianship

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DQLI)4 ½ months after randomisationproportion of patients with a score ≤ 10 at 4½ months in each arm of the study, spa treatment versus usual care.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Global Quality Of Life4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationEuroQOL 5D questionnaire at 4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months
Clinical benefit of the psoriasis4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationproportion of patients with a PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) 50 and PASI 75 at 4½, 6, 9 and 12 months in each arm of the study, spa treatment versus usual care.
pain and pruritus4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationSelf-administered questionnaire with Visual Analogue Scale for pain and for pruritus at 4 1/2, 6, 9, 12 months
Treatment follow up4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisation* Assessment of topical treatments within 12 months (number of tubes used per month) * Number of phototherapy sessions * Use of conventional systemic therapies (acitretin, methotrexate, cyclosporine) (number of weeks of treatment and dosage) * Number of weeks of treatment by biotherapy * Reduction in the use of the health care system (Number of hospitalizations and specialized consultations in connection with psoriasis or not) within 12 months * Reports on the use of complementary and alternative medicines within12 months
Specific Quality Of Life4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationproportion of patients in each arm of the study (spa treatment versus usual care) for the following specific dermatology questionnaires : DLQI score ≤ 10 at 6, 9 and 12 months and VQ Dermato score \> 35 at 4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months
Safety evaluation4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationEvaluation of all adverse events attributable to treatment, or not, according to the usual criteria of pharmacovigilance in clinical trials
Stress evaluation4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisatioself administered questionnaire (PSS: Assessment of stress) at inclusion in the study only
Long term evaluation12 monthsEvaluation of the maintenance of benefits at 12 months (stability of the long term effect) on the primary outcome and secondary outcomes.
patient's examination4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months after randomisationImpact of the spa treatment on overall metabolism indicators in the year Will be collected at 4 1/2, 6, 9 and 12 months in the two groups: * height an weight (BMI calculation) * Waist measurement * Blood pressure

Countries

France

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 12, 2026