High Persistence of Biologic Therapy in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Real-World Evidence from a High-Complexity Hospital in Colombia

Andres Alberto Hormaza-Jaramillo^1,2,3*Leidy Johanna Hurtado-Bermudez^2,3Daniela Peñaloza Gonzalez^2*Tatiana Delgado-Mora²

• ¹Servicio de reumatología, Fundación Valle del Lili, Cali, Cauca, Colombia
• ²Centro de investigaciones clínicas, Fundación Valle del Lili, Cali, Cauca, Colombia
• ³Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, ICESI University, Cali, Cauca, Colombia

Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that significantly impacts patients' quality of life, underscoring the importance of timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment. In Colombia, the estimated prevalence is 13.5 cases per100,000 inhabitants; however, few studies have addressed this condition in the local context.Although there is no single international consensus on treatment, various clinical guidelines agree on the effectiveness of biologic therapies. Despite this, data on Colombian patients treated with biologic agents remain scarce. Therefore, this study aims to describe the clinical and paraclinical characteristics, as well as the outcomes, of patients with PsA receiving biologic treatments-representing the first such analysis conducted in our country.Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using medical records of patients with PsA treated with biologic therapies at a high-complexity hospital in Colombia between 2011 and 2021. Results: A total of 127 patients were included, 55.1% of whom were women, with a mean age of 50.3 years. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity, and peripheral arthritis was the most frequent subtype (55.7%). TNF inhibitors were the most commonly used biologics, followed by IL-17 and IL-12/23 inhibitors, with greater persistence observed with secukinumab and adalimumab. A total of 39.4% of patients switched biologics, most commonly to secukinumab. Only 5.5% discontinued treatment, primarily due to infections. The median time in biological therapy was 36.5 months.Few studies described PsA patients treated with biologics in Latin America, making these findings a valuable contribution on biologic usage and persistence patterns in Colombia, with a high persistence population. The results highlight the heterogeneity of this disease and the need for personalized, continuous management guided by specialists.