Clinical efficacy of a 308 nm excimer laser for treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 308 nm excimer laser for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris patients.

METHOD: Forty subjects with psoriasis vulgaris (26 macular type, and 14 chronic plaque type) were treated by a 308 nm excimer laser. The initial dose was based on multiples of a predetermined minimal erythema dose, while the subsequent doses were adjusted on the response to the intervention, which was twice per week for a total of 15 treatments. The therapeutic efficacy and safety were then evaluated.

RESULTS

Of the 40 patients who received and completed the entire 15 times of laser radiation, (1) the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was improved by 90.19+/-10.12% and 77.34+/-17.04% in macular type and chronic plaque type, respectively (P<0.05) and (2) the average treatment sessions were 13.7 times. The average cumulative doses for all patients were 6.86+/-2.48 J/cm(2), in which it was 5.64+/-1.86 J/cm(2) for macular type and 9.13+/-1.80 J/cm(2) for chronic plaque type, respectively (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our clinical data suggest that treatment of psoriasis vulgaris by a 308 nm excimer laser is effective and safe, and it is more efficacious in macular type than in chronic plaque type.