[Usefulness of photochemotherapy in allergic diseases of the skin].

PUVA treatment was applied in 16 patients with chronic urticaria (7 with solar urticaria, 2 with cold urticaria and 7 with urticaria of unknown etiology), 26 with chronic disseminated eczema and 41 with atopic dermatitis. In all 9 patients with physical urticaria, a clear-cut improvement was observed. The results from the treatment of chronic urticaria of unknown etiology were considerably poorer (improvement in 2 out of 7 cases). In patients with chronic disseminated eczema, a full remission was present in 5 and considerable improvement in 20 cases. In group of 41 patients with atopic dermatitis, 52 cures were carried out; in 8 patients the cure was repeated 2-3 times at 1,0-0,5-year intervals. Complete recovery was achieved in 34 and significant improvement in 16 out of them. The results presented seem to indicate the effectiveness of PUVA treatment to some allergic skin diseases, the more so that the number of exposures required to obtain a considerable improvement, or even full remission, is comparatively low (3-21 occasions), which reduces the risk of complications.