Effectiveness of climatotherapy at the Dead Sea for psoriasis vulgaris: A community-oriented study introducing the 'Beer Sheva Psoriasis Severity Score'

Background: Climatotherapy at the Dead Sea (CDS) is a therapeutic modality for moderate to severe psoriasis vulgaris. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of CDS in patients with psoriasis, using the PASI score and a novel simplified tool for the assessment of psoriasis - the Beer Sheva Psoriasis Severity Score (BPSS). Methods: A total of 70 patients with psoriasis vulgaris were treated by CDS. In all patients, the severity of psoriasis was assessed before and after CDS using PASI score and BPSS. BPSS includes eight items that are recorded by the physician (total severity of the disease, and seven items relating to the physical distribution of the disease) and eight items that are recorded by the patient (total severity, physical and psychological severity, pruritus and assessment of involvement in the face, nails, palms and soles and genital regions). Results: The study included 70 patients (40 men, 30 women; age 19-78 years). There was a 75.9% reduction in PASI score, from a mean of 16.6 ± 11.0 before treatment to 4.0 ± 4.2 after treatment (p < 0.001). There was a 57.5% reduction in BPSS, from a mean of 72.8 ± 19.6 before treatment to 31.0 ± 21.2 after treatment (p < 0.001). PASI score significantly correlated with BPSS before CDS treatment (r=0.59, p < 0.001) and after CDS treatment (r=0.53, p < 0.001). Conclusion: CDS is an effective therapy for patients with psoriasis, as evaluated by either PASI score or BPSS. BPSS was considered shorter and more user-friendly by the participating physicians.