Triple Combination of Fractional CO2 Laser With Topical Corticosteroid and Ultraviolet B Narrow Band in Treatment of Stable Vitiligo.

BACKGROUND

Vitiligo is an acquired disorder of pigmentation thought to occur due to loss and dysfunction of melanocytes that causes skin depigmentation.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of fractional carbon dioxide (CO2) laser combined with topical corticosteroid and ultraviolet B narrow band (UVB-NB) in treatment of stable vitiligo.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Twenty-five patients with stable vitiligo were enrolled. In every patient, the authors selected 2 groups of lesions: that on the right side (group A) were treated with fractional CO2 laser, topical corticosteroid, and UVB-NB, and the lesions on the left side (group B) were treated with topical corticosteroid and UVB-NB.

RESULTS

In group A, only 16% of the patients were not repigmented, whereas most of the patients of group B 72% were not repigmented ( p = .000*). Approximately 20% of the patients of group A showed excellent repigmentation, whereas no patient in group B showed excellent repigmentation ( p = .050*). After treatment, the patients in group A were more satisfied than in group B ( p = .000*).

CONCLUSION

Triple combination of fractional CO2 laser with topical betamethasone and UVB-NB was more effective in treatment of stable vitiligo than double combination of UVB-NB with topical betamethasone.