Efficacy and Safety of Calcipotriol/Betamethasone Dipropionate Ointment for the Treatment of Trachyonychia: An Open-Label Study.

Abstract

BackgroundDespite efforts to treat trachyonychia, there is no promising treatment modality.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the efficacy and safety of calcipotriol plus betamethasone dipropionate ointment on trachyonychia.MethodsA total of 39 patients with 432 nails affected by trachyonychia were enrolled. All patients applied calcipotriol/betamethasone ointment once daily without occlusion for 6 months. Outcome measures were assessed by physician's global assessment (degree of roughness: 0, clear; 1, mild; 2, moderate; 3, marked; 4, severe) at all time points.ResultsAfter 6 months of therapy, 98.6% (426/432) of nails showed significant clinical improvement; 4.2% were completely free from nail lesions. The mean physician global assessment score decreased significantly from 3.5 to 1.7 points (p< 0.05). No serious side effects were reported, except mild pruritus and erythema in 2 patients.ConclusionThis is the first study to prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of calcipotriol/betamethasone ointment for the treatment of trachyonychia. The results indicate topical calcipotriol/betamethasone is an effective and safe treatment for symptom improvement of trachyonychia.