Pathways to Better Hidradenitis Suppurativa Care: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies

Announcer:
You’re listening to Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD. On this episode, we’ll hear about the future of treatment and management for hidradenitis suppurativa, or HS, from Dr. Daniel Klufas, who is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. Let’s hear from Dr. Klufas now.

Dr. Klufas:
Fortunately, HS is now at the forefront of many people’s minds, so there are a number of emerging treatments and research findings driven mostly by physicians and physician scientists involved in translational research. The better we understand the pathways of this disease, the more likely we are to discover new treatments. So, for instance, it might be possible we see in the future agents such as JAK inhibitors, BTK inhibitors, and other IL-17 drugs—which are currently being used off label—reach approval for HS in the coming years. But we still have some work to do to figure out precisely how all this is intertwined. Ultimately, the earlier interventions we do, the better overall patients will do. And hopefully we stave off that architectural distortion completely, and that will ultimately give patients the best outcomes.

Oftentimes, these patients are getting delayed diagnosis that takes years and years and years. And it’s often because either the suspicion wasn’t raised or they’re seeing providers who don’t really have it on the radar. The earlier we can make interventions, the better we can stave off the permanent damage this condition creates, and then, ultimately, our patients will do better. The other thing is I want to highlight is that the condition takes a huge emotional, financial, and personal toll on patients, so it’s really important to understand how their social determinants of health may impact ultimately, the success of any of the treatments you propose.

Announcer:
That was Dr. Daniel Klufas talking about the future of treatment and management for hidradenitis suppurativa. To access this and other episodes in our series, visit Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD.com, where you can Be Part of the Knowledge. Thanks for listening!