Outcome domains and measures for pain in psoriasis used in registered trials: analysis of studies on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Aim: Psoriasis includes unpleasant symptoms such as pain. This study aimed to investigate whether clinical trials have domains related to pain in their study designs. Materials and methods: We analyzed all clinical trials about interventions for psoriasis treatment registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and the frequency of pain-related outcomes.

Results

Our analysis included 1033 registered clinical trials. They had 1329 primary outcomes and 5457 secondary outcomes. The pain was used in six (0.6%) protocols as a primary outcome and 68 (6.5%) protocols as a secondary outcome.

Conclusion

Pain as an outcome was used in few registered clinical trial protocols for the treatment of psoriatic conditions. Future studies should investigate why the trialists do not include pain among primary or secondary outcomes.