12983 The effectiveness of high-dose ultraviolet A-1 phototherapy on acute exacerbated atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, characterized by pruritus, a chronic course of exacerbations and remissions. High-dose ultraviolet A-1 (UVA-1) phototherapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of acute exacerbated AD, however, there was no previous case study in Asia. We present a retrospective review of our experiences with high-dose UVA-1 phototherapy. This study was conducted on 16 patients with acute exacerbation of AD. High-dose (100 J/cm2) regimens of UVA-1 therapy were employed. The therapeutic effectiveness was assessed according to the clinical examination and SCORAD index before and after the 5th and 10th sessions of treatment. In addition, side effects and recurrence during follow-up were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were between 7 and 50 years of age with average age of 25.8 years. The SCORAD index of 16 patients were between 41 and 89.5 with average score of 64.9. Among the 16 patients, two patients discontinued the treatement because of side effects such as erythema and pruritus. Of 14 patients who completed the 10 sessions of high-dose UVA-1 phototherapy, nine patients (64.3%) showed complete remission and five patients (35.7%) showed partial remission. The average SCORAD index was reduced from 64.2 (before treatment) to 23.3 (after 10th session of treatment). This is the first case study of high-dose UVA-1 phototherapy on Asian acute exacerbated AD patients, suggesting that high dose UVA-1 phototherapy can be a well tolerated and effective treatment for acute exacerbated AD. Afterwards, large-scale prospective studies are needed.