Yes, PV can be serious.

If PV were left untreated, it is estimated that the death rate would be about 3 in every 4 patients after a year of having the disease ⁷. But fortunately, modern drug treatments mean the disease is controllable and there is a very low risk of dying. In the 1950s when corticosteroid treatment was brought in, the death rate fell to 3 in 10 patients ⁷. Nowadays, with all the treatments available, the risk of death from PV has fallen to less than 6% ^7,8,9.

Patients with severe PV are best admitted to hospital where they can be closely observed, nursed on special beds and have their skin erosions cleaned and dressed.

Patients with less severe PV, who are not covered in erosions, can be managed by hospital out-patient visits. Initially these visits are likely to be frequent, maybe every week or fortnight at the start, and will also involve blood tests at the hospital. As the disease is controlled, the hospital visits become much less frequent.

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