PUVA bath photochemotherapy for prurigo simplex subacuta

Seventeen patients with extensive subacute prurigo, often resistant to diff erent regimens of prior external and internal therapy, were treated with PU VA bath photochemotherapy (psoralen bath followed by UVA irradiation) using bath water containing 0,5 mg/l of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). In 15 of 17 p atients treated, the skin lesions showed a significant improvement or even complete clearance within 8 weeks of therapy. In two patients, only limited clinical improvement was achieved. Follow-up after 6 weeks revealed sustai ned improvement in the successfully treated patients. The mean cumulative U VA dose given until clearance was 30,3 (SD+/-12,6) J/cm(2). Therefore, a me an of 24,1 (SD+/-5,3) PUVA bath treatments was necessary. No side effects w ere seen except phototoxic reactions in two patients manifested as slight e rythema. The results of this trial show that PUVA bath photochemotherapy wi th 8-MOP is an effective therapeutic alternative to other known therapies i n subacute prurigo. Compared to oral PUVA therapy or other topical and syst emic treatments, PUVA bath photochemotherapy with 8-MOP shows an excellent efficiency-side effect ratio. The clearance of chronic skin lesions refract ive to other topical or systemic treatments by PUVA bath photochemotherapy with 8-MOP demonstrates that this therapy can be even superior to other com mon therapeutic modalities used for subacute prurigo.