History of psoriasis response to sunlight does not predict outcome of UVB phototherapy.
We prospectively asked 146 consecutive patients starting narrow-band UVB (NB-UVB) for psoriasis about the effects of sunlight on their psoriasis. Eighty-eight (60%) patients reported improvement with sunlight, six (4%) reported worsening, and 52 (36%) had not noted any change in their psoriasis with sunlight exposure. Overall, 101 (69%) were recorded to reach clearance or minimal residual activity (MRA), 24 (16.5%) to achieve moderate improvement, and 21 (14.5%) had other recorded outcomes (mainly 'did not attend'), with UVB phototherapy. Forty-two (72%) of the 58 who did not report improvement with sunlight went on to clearance/MRA with UVB compared to 59/88 (67%) of those who did report improvement (95% confidence interval for difference in percentage improving, -10% to 20%, P = 0.49). Patients' replies to questions about how their psoriasis responds to sunlight do not appear to predict response to UVB phototherapy in our patient population.
Dawe
R S
RS
Photobiology Unit, Department of Dermatology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, Scotland. r.s.dawe@dundee.ac.uk
Ferguson
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D013472:Sunlight; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy