A study to compare the efficacy and safety of narrow band-UVB alone as well as in combination with topical calcipotriol in patients with psoriasis vulgaris

Introduction : Psoriasis is a complex disease that requires carefully designed therapy in order to achieve sustained remission. The disease can be effectively controlled by various therapeutic options, used alone or in combination. Phototherapy may be combined with topical or systemic agents to achieve higher clearance rates, longer disease free intervals and a lower carcinogenic risk. The combination of NB-UVB with calcipotriol increases the therapeutic efficacy of phototherapy as well as UVB reduces the irritation caused by calcipotriol Objective : The chief purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of Narrow Band-UVB alone and in combination with topical calcipotriol in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Materials and Methods: Patients with chronic plaque type psoriasis of 100 numbers involving less than 20% of body surface area were randomly allocated to any one of the following 2 groups. Group A- Narrow Band UVB phototherapy. & Group B- Narrow Band UVB with topical calcipotriol ointment Results : In group A (NB-UVB), the mean baseline PASI score was 12.1 and the mean PASI score at the end of 12 weeks was 2.54. There was 79% reduction in PASI score at the end of 12 weeks. 31 patients showed good response and 13 patients showed more than 70% clearance. When NB-UVB group was compared with NB-UVB and calcipotriol combination group, there was a significant difference (p Limitations : Further studies with additional numbers of patients are essential to compare the efficacy and safety of Narrow Band-UVB alone as well as in combination with topical calcipotriol in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Keywords: Psoriasis, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, Calcipotriol, Phototherapy.