Role of Topical 5-Flurouracil Combined with Microneedling in Stable Vitiligo

Abstract

Background: Vitiligo is a chronic acquired disorder characterized by the development of depigmented macules which slowly enlarges with the concurrent appearance of new lesions.Aim: The aim is to study the efficacy of treating vitiligo by microneedling followed by application of 5-fluorouracil on vitiligo patches.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary hospital from March 2019 to August 2019. For this study, we selected about 50 patients in the age group of 10–50 years who had been taking treatment for vitiligo for 2–3 years without much improvement. We suggested them about needling with 5-fluorouracil application over vitiligo patches. The procedure was performed at a gap of 2 weeks on vitiligo patches of various patients for about 3 months.Result: After about 1 month of this procedure, we noticed an improvement in about 40% of patients with some erythema and hyperpigmentation developing on the margins of vitiligo patches. Gradually more than 50% of patients had similar improvement by the end of 2 months. After 3 months, about 60% of patients had hyperpigmentation in the vitiligo lesions with almost complete pigmentation in very small patches; larger ones had less pigmentation and 40% did not have any pigmentation from the previous state.Conclusion: 5-fluorouracil is a simple and effective method for treating small vitiligo patches (< 5 cm diameter generally) with no major side effects. It is a cost-effective procedure in treating a very resistant disease, i.e., vitiligo, especially for small lesions.