EFFICACY OF ULTRAVIOLET-B PHOTOTHERAPY FOR PSORIASIS IN PATIENTS INFECTED WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS

To evaluate the efficacy of ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy for the t reatment of psoriasis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the response of 14 patients was compared to that of matc hed seronegative control individuals. All patients were evaluated prio r to treatment (baseline) and after 21 treatments for the extent of to tal body surface area (TBSA) involvement and the quantification of sca le, erythema, and thickness of plaques using a scale of 0 (absent) to 4 (severe). The only concomitant medication allowed was salicylic acid in petrolatum. The cumulative score for scale, erythema, and thicknes s improved 1.9+/-0.5 [mean+/-standard error of mean (SEM)] in the HIV group and 2.4+/-0.3 in controls. There was 40.9+/-7.3 % reduction of T BSA involvement in the former and 38.4+/-7.6 % reduction in the latter group. None of the differences was statistically significant. There w as no statistically significant difference in the response to therapy among various stages of immunosuppression in the HIV group. There was also no deterioration of immune status in this group. WE phototherapy is an effective treatment for psoriasis in patients infected with HIV. The response is identical to that of matched control individuals.