Efficacy of acitretin in severe psoriasis.

Acitretin (Soriatane, Roche Pharmaceuticals) is an aromatic retinoid, effective in the treatment of severe psoriasis. This study highlights data from two existing clinical trials to capture PASI 50 and PASI 75 responder rates which represent a common metric used in current psoriasis clinical trials. A review of pharmacokinetics, safety and a discussion of relapse rate establish acitretin as an efficacious, convenient, oral treatment for initial and maintenance therapy of severe psoriasis.