title: Comparison of the efficacy of 308-nm excimer lamp monotherapy with topical tacrolimus or clobetasol 17-propionate combination therapies in localized vitiligo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, excimer light treatments have come to the fore in localized vitiligo because of their high efficacy and safety.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of 308-nm excimer lamp as a monotherapy and its combination with tacrolimus 0.1% or clobetasol 17-propionate 0.05% ointment in localized vitiligo.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study including a total of 82 patients who were treated with excimer lamp monotherapy (EL group) (n = 30), excimer lamp + topical tacrolimus (EL + T group) (n = 29), or excimer lamp + topical clobetasol 17-propionate (EL + CS group) (n = 23). We used digital morphometric analysis for the evaluation of repigmentation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median healing rate after 24 sessions was significantly higher in EL + T group (69%) than EL (42.5%) and EL + CS (44%) groups (P = 0.008 and P = 0.032). There were not any patients with face lesions in EL + CS group, so when these patients were excluded, EL + T and EL + CS groups had higher healing rates than EL group (P = 0.037 and P = 0.043). It was confirmed that combination with tacrolimus was superior to clobetasol-17 propionate (P = 0.048) with multivariate regression analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We noted that 308-nm excimer lamp therapy was efficacious; adding topical tacrolimus or topical clobetasol-17 propionate could increase response to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gazi University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Funda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bapur Erduran
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gazi University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adışen
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D002990:Clobetasol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002990:Clobetasol; D016559:Tacrolimus
keywords: 308-nm excimer; clobetasol-17 propionate; digital morphometric analysis; tacrolimus; vitiligo