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Phototherapy and Psoriasis
| #1 Quality of life in psoriasis improves after standardized administration of narrowband UVB phototherapy. Lim C. The Australasian Journal Of Dermatology [Australas J Dermatol], 2006 Feb; Vol. 47 (1), pp. 37-40; PMID: 16405481; |
| ABSTRACT: Psoriasis is a chronic fluctuating dermatosis with demonstrable impact on patients' quality of life. Our aim was to investigate if narrowband UVB phototherapy administered to psoriatic patients in a standardized manner leads to an improvement in patients' perceived quality of life. A total of 138 patients with psoriasis were recruited from referrals to the Skin and Cancer Foundation, Australia between January 1998 and September 2002. Patients had psoriasis inadequately controlled by topical therapies alone and no contraindications to the use of phototherapy. Patients completed a pre- and post-therapy questionnaire on quality of life parameters. The differences in mean and standard deviation of quality of life parameters were measured using a paired sample t-test based on pre- and post-phototherapy questionnaires. Ninety patients were included in the study. Forty-eight patients were excluded as they had not completed post-phototherapy questionnaires. The course of narrowband UVB phototherapy was found to significantly improve quality of life in psoriasis patients (P <or= 0.005). We conclude that narrowband UVB phototherapy improves quality of life in patients with psoriasis. |
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| #2 Cost-effectiveness of moderate-to-severe psoriasis treatment. Miller DW. Expert Opinion On Pharmacotherapy [Expert Opin Pharmacother], 2006 Feb; Vol. 7 (2), pp. 157-67; PMID: 16433581. |
| Psoriasis is a common, chronic inflammatory disease that can cause as much disability as cancer, diabetes or other major medical illnesses. Traditional therapies for treating moderate-to-severe psoriasis include phototherapy, methotrexate, oral retinoids and ciclosporin. New biological treatments provide further therapeutic options, but add to the already considerable cost of managing psoriasis. Expert panels have published guidelines for the use of biological agents in managing moderate-to-severe psoriasis; however, few if any of these guidelines appropriately consider the cost-effectiveness of treatment options. When considering cost-effectiveness in addition to safety and efficacy, ultraviolet Type B phototherapy seems to be the best first-line agent for the control of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, despite a small potential for cumulative toxicity. The biologics should be considered as second-line agents alongside the traditional systemic treatments when phototherapy proves to be ineffective or is otherwise contraindicated, such as in patients with psoriatic arthritis |
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