title: Evaluation of 25 years of phototherapy for treating psoriasis at a teaching hospital in southern Spain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For years, phototherapy has been used in a wide range of skin diseases, which is unsurprising as skin is the anatomical feature most directly exposed to light, especially in psoriasis. Although the role of light therapy has been replaced by different therapeutic modalities in recent years, this treatment is now an established option for many skin diseases.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to characterize the patient population that had received the aforementioned treatment in the Virgen Macarena Health Area in Seville (Spain) between June 1985 and October 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have designed a descriptive study with a univariate analysis covering 443 treatments with light therapy, all administered to the same number of patients suffering from psoriasis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  79.15% of patients were discharged due to improvement or healing, while the 20.85% were discharged due to other reasons. The average total accumulative dose was 131.53 J/cm2. We do not detected an increase in proportion in patients for develop NMSK after light therapy treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We consider that phototherapy is still an effective and efficient treatment that will have to be reconsidered in the current macroeconomic context.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Especialidades de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, ES.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toledo-Pastrana
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, ES.
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: García-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, ES.
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Carrizosa-Esquivel
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Seville, ES.
authors.forename: Francisco Miguel
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Camacho-Martínez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult