Clinical evaluation of interrupted versus continuous narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy in nonsegmental vitiligo treatment: A prospective randomized comparative study.

Phototherapy is the pillar of vitiligo treatment. One of its main obstacles is noncompliance. It was noticed that patients continue to repigment even after stopping sessions, so the idea of interrupted phototherapy emerged. To evaluate the effectiveness of interrupted versus continuous NB-UVB in nonsegmental vitiligo treatment. A prospective randomized comparative study of 23 patients with bilateral, nonsegmental vitiligo with no age or sex limits. All patients were treated with NB-UVB phototherapy for 1 month, after which one side of the body received continuous therapy (Side A) and the other received an interrupted course (Side B) for a total of 6 months. Two more groups of 10 patients were enrolled to exclude the systemic effect of NB-UVB. One group received continuous NB-UVB treatment, and the other received interrupted courses for 6 months. Evaluation of the results was performed clinically, by digital photography, planimetry and Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI) prior to and 3 and 6 months after treatment. There was a significant clinical improvement in Group 1 compared to baseline (p < .05). However, there was no significant difference between the sides with regards to the clinical evaluation, point counting, and VASI scores (p > .05). When comparing the other two groups, there was a significant clinical improvement in each group after 6 months of treatment compared to baseline (p < .05), while there was no significant difference between them (p > .05). The current study suggests that interrupted NB-UVB phototherapy is a good alternative to continuous treatment with improved patient compliance, fewer side effects, and a lower cost of treatment.