COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF TWICE WEEKLY VERSUS THRICE WEEKLY NARROW BAND UVB PHOTOTHERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PLAQUE PSORIASIS

Treatment of Chronic Plaque Psoriasis

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of twice weekly and thrice weekly narrow band UVB phototherapy in terms of Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scoring in patients with Chronic Plaque Psoriasis (CPP) having skin type III – V.
Methods: It was an experimental study (Randomized controlled trial of 84 patients, divided into two groups comprising 42 patients each). Phototherapy was administered thrice weekly (Monday Wednesday and Thursday) for group I and twice weekly (Tuesday and Saturday) for group II.
Results: Chi-square test was applied for efficacy against number of treatments per week and revealed a p value of less than 0.05 i.e statistically increase in efficacy for the thrice weekly group. Hence it was proven that thrice weekly Narrow Band (NB) UVB more effective than thrice weekly therapy for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Conclusion: Narrow band UVB is a safe and effective treatment modality in CPP. Thrice weekly NB UVB is more effective than twice weekly therapy in Asian skin phototype III-V.
Keywords: Psoriasis, Narrow Band UVB [NB UVB].