Efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of all-trans retinoic acid/Clobetasol Propionate Compound Ointment in the treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis vulgaris: A randomized, single-blind, multicenter clinical trial

To assess the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of all-trans retinoic acid/Clobetasol Propionate Compound Ointment and calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment in the treatment of mild-to-moderate patients with psoriasis vulgaris. This was a randomized, single-blind, multicenter clinical trial. A total of 240 patients were randomized to receive twice-daily all-trans retinoic acid/Clobetasol Propionate Compound Ointment (treatment group) or once-daily calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment (control group) for 4 weeks. The efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness were assessed at Weeks 2 and 4. After 4 weeks, both groups showed a significant clinical improvement compared to baseline (88.33% vs. 89.83%, respectively, p = .7112). But PASI 75 response in the treatment group was superior to the control group (44.12% vs. 28.57%, respectively, p = .0200), at Week 4. SSRI improvement rate in the treatment group was also superior to control group (67.11% vs. 59.43%, respectively, p = .0119) at Week 4. All-trans retinoic acid/Clobetasol Propionate Compound Ointment showed a significant clinical improvement in erythema, infiltration, and scales of skin lesions and PASI score compared to baseline. 1.67% of patients (treatment group) reported adverse reactions compared to 2.50% (control group) with no statistical significance. In addition, the cost-effectiveness assessment showed a higher cost-effectiveness of the treatment group compared to the control group in 4 weeks (199.25 vs. 801.51). All-trans retinoic acid/Clobetasol Propionate Compound Ointment was effective and safe in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris with similar efficacy as calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment and lower treatment costs.