Risk for Serious Infection Up With Adalimumab Use in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Versus Psoriasis
Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa have increased likelihood of sepsis, genitourinary infection versus those with psoriasis
By Dermsquared Editorial Team | August 26, 2025
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For adults treated with adalimumab, those with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have an increased risk for infection compared with those with psoriasis, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in JAMA Dermatology.
Bruna Galvao de Oliveira Wafae, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using deidentified claims data to compare the risk for hospitalization from noncutaneous infections, infection profiles, and the length of stay (LOS) of adult patients with HS and psoriasis treated with adalimumab.
The study included 10,349 patients: 1,650 with HS and 8,699 with psoriasis. The researchers found that the risk for serious infection was increased in patients with HS (hazard ratio, 1.53). HS patients had an increased likelihood of sepsis and genitourinary infections (incidence rate ratios, 2.07 and 2.22, respectively) and increased odds of prolonged LOS compared with the psoriasis cohort (odds ratio, 1.28).
"These findings underscore the need for strategies to reduce the infection risk in this population," the authors write. "Future studies will be important to further understand the risk of infection in this population, focusing on the contribution of the disease severity and therapeutic regimens, as well as investigating prophylactic strategies to reduce infection burden in the HS population."
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.