Efficacy of 308 nm monochromatic excimer light and 311 nm narrow band ultraviolet on facial vitiligo

Objective To compare the efficacy of monochromatic excimer light and narrow-band ultraviolet in the treatment of facial vitiligo patients. Methods Seventy-nine patients with facial vitiligo were randomly divided into MEL group and NB-UVB group. The MEL and 311-nm NB-UVB were applied respectively. Both groups were treated twice a week, total 30 times. Results After ten times treatment, the effective rate of MEL group and NB-UVB group was 39.02% and 15.79%, respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups (P 0.05). The efficacy of both groups showed that disease duration was a negative factor. It seemed that shorter duration of facial vitiligo would obtain better clinical effect. MEL and NB-UVB were safe and effective for the progressive vitiligo. In both groups, few adverse effets in some patients were observed. Conclusions The clinical effect of MEL in treating facial vitiligo is more rapidly than NB-UVB, but as the treatment times increase, the efficacy becomes similar. Both methods are safe in treating facial vitiligo of different stages. Key words: Vitiligo; Face; 308 nm monochromatic excimer light; Ultraviolet B, narrow-band