Treatment Satisfaction in Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Real-World Survey from the EU5 and USA.

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

Low satisfaction with medical care among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa: A multicenter study.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026
Article
Determinants of Satisfaction with Medical Care for Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Results from a Multicentre Survey in Germany.Dermatology and therapy · 2025
Article
Prescribing Patterns in Pediatric Hidradenitis Suppurativa.Pediatric dermatology
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

John R IngramDepartment of Dermatology & Academic Wound Healing, Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

Vincenzo BettoliDepartment of Oncology and Specialistic Medicine, O.U. of Dermatology, Azienda Ospedaliera - University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.

Jasmine I EspyHidradenitis Suppurativa Patient Advocate, Multimedia Journalist, and Filmmaker, Los Angeles, Colima, USA.

Georgios KokolakisPsoriasis Research and Treatment Center, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Antonio MartorellDepartment of Dermatology, Hospital de Manises, Valencia, Spain.

Axel P VillaniHospices Civils de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon I University, Department of Dermatology - Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France.

Hayley WallingerAdelphi Real World, Bollington, UK.

Isabel TrumanAdelphi Real World, Bollington, UK.

Emily CoakAdelphi Real World, Bollington, UK.

Torben KasparekNovartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland.

Elisa MuscianisiNovartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey, USA.

Craig RichardsonNovartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland.

Alexa B KimballDepartment of Dermatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Clinical Laboratory for Epidemiology and Applied Research in Skin (CLEARS), Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionHidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a debilitating, inflammatory skin disorder. Treatment strategies in patients with HS are challenging; real-world evidence in a HS population is warranted for greater disease understanding. The objective of this analysis was to describe real-world treatment patterns and treatment satisfaction in patients with HS.

methodsThis was a cross-sectional market research survey with retrospective data collection in patients with HS from the USA and five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) between November 2020 and April 2021, using physician- and patient-reported surveys. Eligible physicians were general dermatologists actively managing patients with HS; dermatologists were required to have consulted with ≥2 patients with HS in the previous 12 months. Adult (≥18 years) and adolescent (10-17 years) HS patients visiting a participating dermatologist were included. Outcomes included treatment patterns, flare status, treatments prescribed in response to flares, previous surgeries, barriers to biologics, and patient- and physician-reported satisfaction with the disease control provided by treatment.

resultsSurvey data from 1,787 patients were collected from 312 dermatologists. The most frequently prescribed treatments were topicals, oral antibiotics, and antiseptic washes/creams at diagnosis and sampling. At sampling, biologics were more frequently prescribed in patients with more severe disease (prescribed in 26.6%, 31.0%, and 52.4% of patients with mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively); oral antibiotics (48.8%), topicals (37.4%), and biologics (34.3%) were the most frequently prescribed treatment classes in response to a flare. Of patients currently not receiving a biologic, dermatologists reported that 18.9% of patients' condition warranted their use. Approximately one quarter of dermatologists (24.5%) and patients (27.4%) were not satisfied with current treatment; of patients who were dissatisfied, 12.8% reported they would never raise their dissatisfaction with their doctor.

conclusionThese real-world data suggest a high disease burden and potential undertreatment in patients with HS. Patients received multiple treatments, and a notable proportion underwent surgery. Robustly integrating the patient voice in HS treatment decisions may lead to better outcomes and improved treatment satisfaction.

introductionHidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a debilitating, inflammatory skin disorder. Treatment strategies in patients with HS are challenging; real-world evidence in a HS population is warranted for greater disease understanding. The objective of this analysis was to describe real-world treatment patterns and treatment satisfaction in patients with HS.

methodsThis was a cross-sectional market research survey with retrospective data collection in patients with HS from the USA and five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) between November 2020 and April 2021, using physician- and patient-reported surveys. Eligible physicians were general dermatologists actively managing patients with HS; dermatologists were required to have consulted with ≥2 patients with HS in the previous 12 months. Adult (≥18 years) and adolescent (10-17 years) HS patients visiting a participating dermatologist were included. Outcomes included treatment patterns, flare status, treatments prescribed in response to flares, previous surgeries, barriers to biologics, and patient- and physician-reported satisfaction with the disease control provided by treatment.

resultsSurvey data from 1,787 patients were collected from 312 dermatologists. The most frequently prescribed treatments were topicals, oral antibiotics, and antiseptic washes/creams at diagnosis and sampling. At sampling, biologics were more frequently prescribed in patients with more severe disease (prescribed in 26.6%, 31.0%, and 52.4% of patients with mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively); oral antibiotics (48.8%), topicals (37.4%), and biologics (34.3%) were the most frequently prescribed treatment classes in response to a flare. Of patients currently not receiving a biologic, dermatologists reported that 18.9% of patients' condition warranted their use. Approximately one quarter of dermatologists (24.5%) and patients (27.4%) were not satisfied with current treatment; of patients who were dissatisfied, 12.8% reported they would never raise their dissatisfaction with their doctor.

conclusionThese real-world data suggest a high disease burden and potential undertreatment in patients with HS. Patients received multiple treatments, and a notable proportion underwent surgery. Robustly integrating the patient voice in HS treatment decisions may lead to better outcomes and improved treatment satisfaction.

Indexed as

Hidradenitis SuppurativaPatient SatisfactionPractice Patterns, Physicians'AdolescentAdultAnti-Bacterial AgentsBiological ProductsChildCross-Sectional StudiesEuropeFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesAnti-Bacterial AgentsBiological ProductsAcne inversaBarriers to biologicsCross-sectionalHidradenitis suppurativaManagementSurgery