Family planning and psoriasis – review on systemic therapeutic possibilities of the disease

Abstract

Expecting a child may bring challenges into the treatment of psoriasis. Topicals and UVB phototherapy may safely be used in pregnancy, however their application may not be adequate in moderate-to-severe forms of the disease. Many conventional systemic and new biological therapies are available in psoriasis, but their application to a woman who is planning to have a child or the one who is pregnant or is in breastfeeding period requires careful considerations. A lot of these systemic drugs are contraindicated in these special cases. In this article the authors review the various systemic treatments available in pregnancy or breastfeeding for a patient with plaque-type psoriasis.