Pg. Calzavarapinton et al., SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AN AGGRESSIVE AND INDIVIDUALIZED BATH-PUVA REGIMEN IN THE TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS, Dermatology, 189(3), 1994, pp. 256-259
Background: The optimal therapeutic regimen of bath-PUVA therapy of ps
oriasis is still under debate. Objective: We investigated the safety a
nd efficacy of an aggressive and individualized bath-PUVA regimen. Met
hods: Two closely matched groups of 22 psoriatic patients were treated
either with 30-min baths in 0.0003% 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) aqueous
solution or oral administration of the drug. According to the standar
d European regimen, treatments were delivered 4 times a week starting
with the minimal phototoxic dose. Results: Complete clearing or marked
improvement was observed in all the patients. However, with bath-PUVA
, the same therapeutic effect required smaller cumulative UVA doses (3
9.3 +/- 15.8 vs. 123.8 +/- 39.9 J/cm(2)) and lower numbers of exposure
s (15.2 +/- 4.4 vs. 20.6 +/- 4.2). Both differences were significant a
t the 0.01 level (Student's t test). Gastro-intestinal side-effects we
re of course restricted to oral 8-MOP. The incidences of bums and prur
itus were similar. Conclusion: Using an aggressive and individualized
schedule, bath-PUVA therapy showed a greater efficacy than oral PUVA t
herapy while being just as safe.