Clinical efficacy of a 308 nm excimer laser for treatment of psoriasis vulgaris

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 308 nm excimer laser for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris patients. METHOD: Forty subjects with psoriasis vulgaris (26 macular type, and 14 chronic plaque type) were treated by a 308 nm excimer laser. The initial dose was based on multiples of a predetermined minimal erythema dose, while the subsequent doses were adjusted on the response to the intervention, which was twice per week for a total of 15 treatments. The therapeutic efficacy and safety were then evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 40 patients who received and completed the entire 15 times of laser radiation, (1) the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was improved by 90.19+/-10.12% and 77.34+/-17.04% in macular type and chronic plaque type, respectively (P<0.05) and (2) the average treatment sessions were 13.7 times. The average cumulative doses for all patients were 6.86+/-2.48 J/cm(2), in which it was 5.64+/-1.86 J/cm(2) for macular type and 9.13+/-1.80 J/cm(2) for chronic plaque type, respectively (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our clinical data suggest that treatment of psoriasis vulgaris by a 308 nm excimer laser is effective and safe, and it is more efficacious in macular type than in chronic plaque type.