Cream psoralen plus ultraviolet A therapy for granuloma annulare.

BACKGROUND

Treatment modalities for granuloma annulare (GA) often remain unsatisfactory or can be accompanied by potentially hazardous side-effects. Psoralen plus ultraviolet (UV) A (PUVA) bath photochemotherapy has been reported to be highly effective in the treatment of GA. Another form of topical PUVA therapy, using 8-methoxypsoralen-containing cream or gel preparations, has been proven to be as effective as bath PUVA therapy in the treatment of palmoplantar dermatoses.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the efficacy of cream PUVA photochemotherapy in patients with GA.

METHODS

Five patients with GA were treated. The diagnosis was confirmed by pretreatment skin biopsies. Cream PUVA therapy was performed four times a week: the mean number of treatments was 26 (range 17-40) and mean cumulative UVA dose was 55.9 J cm-2 (range 18.2-109.2).

RESULTS

Cream PUVA photochemotherapy induced significant clinical improvement (one patient) or clearance (four patients) of GA in all patients. Clearance was documented clinically and histopathologically.

CONCLUSIONS

Cream PUVA phototherapy can be highly effective in patients affected by localized forms of GA.