A retrospective review of PUVA therapy at the National Skin Centre of Singapore

Background: Photochemotherapy (PUVA) is beneficial for the treatment of var ious dermatoses, The introduction of ultraviolet B and narrow-band ultravio let B phototherapy has had a significant impact on the role of PUVA in derm atology, This study aims to assess the current role of PUVA in treating der matoses, in a predominantly Asian population, at the National Skin Centre i n Singapore, Materials and methods: We reviewed the clinical data of 115 patients who we re started on PUVA treatment at the National Skin Centre, Singapore in 1998 . We analysed the epidemiology data, the clinical response rate and the adv erse effects of PUVA therapy, All of the patients continued to have ongoing maintenance treatment. Results: Most of our patients were Chinese (74.8%) and male (58.3%), rangin g from the ages of 4 to 74 years, Vitiligo (60.9%) was the commonest skin d isorder treated with PUVA, followed by psoriasis (20.9%), endogenous eczema (11.3%), mycosis fungoides (3.5%), lichen amyloidosis (2.6%) and prurigo n odularis (0.9%), Most of our patients received paint PUVA (50.4%), 33.9% or al PUVA and 15.7% bath PUVA, The best clinical response - those patients ac hieving a greater that 50% clearance - was observed in patients with endoge nous eczema, psoriasis and mycosis fungoides (76.8%, 73.9% and 60%, respect ively), Of the vitiliginous patients, 54.3% experienced a poor response to PUVA therapy. The main side effects were mild erythema and pruritus, Conclusion: PUVA remains a valuable, well-tolerated therapeutic option for a variety of dermatoses.