An unusual cause of burn injury: Unsupervised use of drugs that contain psoralens

Although psoralens are useful components of the psoralen ultraviolet A-rang e therapy that is mainly used for the treatment of vitiligo, psoriasis, and hypopigmented scars, they have a narrow margin of safety. Oral and topical forms of psoralen-containing drugs are routinely used in medicine. Because psoralens sensitize skin to ultraviolet A light, phototoxic reactions are the most frequent adverse effect of this treatment. Sunburn may sometimes b e a major injury in psoralen users because high doses or inappropriate use of the drug may render the skin extremely sensitive. In this article, we pr esent the case of a vitiligo patient who was admitted to our facility with an intense burn after the topical use of 8-methoxy-psoralen solution as a s untanning agent. We will also discuss the unusual nature of this type of bu rn and the course of phototoxic lesions and their differences from a typica l sunburn.