[Treatment of porphyria cutanea tarda with and without phlebotomy (author's transl)].

Extensive investigations form 1962 to 1973 on 23 patients with porphyria cutanea tarda are reported. Two collectives of patients with different treatments are compared. One collective was treated conventionally with "liver therapy, abstinence from alcohol, and rest in bed", the other collective with "phlebotomy, abstinence from alcohol, and rest in bed". Both collectives showed a nearly equal decrease of uroporphyrin excretion. The unfavourable effect of alcohol in this disease was confirmed. In the post-observation period, minimal excretion of uroporphyrin was found to be more frequent and to persist longer in the collective treated by phlebotomy. In this collective, abstinence from alcohol was more consistently adhered to.