A comparative multicentre trial of halometasone ointment and fluocortolone plus fluocortolone caproate ointment in the treatment of psoriasis.

A multicentre, between-patient, comparative trial was carried out by nine dermatologists in the Federal Republic of Germany to compare the efficacy and tolerability of 0.05 halometasone ointment with those of an ointment, containing 0.25% fluocortolone + 0.25% fluocortolone caproate, in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. The evaluable trial population consisted of 182 patients, 115 males and sixty-seven females. Halometasone ointment yielded a higher success rate ('good' to 'very good' results), namely 56.4% than that obtained with the comparative ointment (45.4%). Halometasone ointment also produced a higher cure rate, namely 26.6%, than that reported with the comparative preparation (19.3%). An improvement of one score over the pre-treatment clinical status of the psoriatic lesions reported at the Day 10 visit was significantly higher (p = 0.04), namely 48.9%, with halometasone ointment than that with the comparative preparation (35.2%). The percentages of patients obtaining an early cure, i.e. in less than 30 days, and onset of action were practically identical in both treatment groups. No adverse effects were reported in any of the ninety-four patients treated with halometasone ointment, while unwanted reactions were observed in three of the eighty-eight patients treated with the comparative preparation.