The overall objectives of the guidelines are to provide recommendations based on current evidence for best practice in the diagnosis and management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in adults.
The guideline covers:
- early diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis
- screening for co-morbidities
- assessment of disease severity
- non-pharmaceutical treatments
- psychological interventions
- topical treatment
- phototherapy
- systemic therapy
- biological treatments
- referral pathways
- the provision of patient information
The target users of the guideline are:
- dermatologists
- rheumatologists
- general practitioners
- health psychologists
- medical physicists
- nurses
- pharmacists
- patients and carers
The guidelines are not intended to be construed or serve as standard care, as this will always depend on individual circumstances and based on clinical judgement.
The draft guideline can be downloaded in pdf format from:
www. sign.ac.uk/pdf/psoriasis-draft.pdf
A patient version will be available from the SIGN website following full guideline publication in Autumn 2010.
About SIGN
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) develops evidence based clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland. SIGN guidelines are derived from a systematic review of the scientific literature and are designed as a vehicle for accelerating the translation of new knowledge into action to meet our aim of reducing variations in practice, and improving patient-important outcomes.
Source
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network website
Accessed 24 September 2009
Article edited 7/10/09 & 1/11/09