Mustafa Özdemir, Burhan Engin, İbrahim Baysal, İnci Mevlitoğlu
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-0529

The combination of retinoids with phototherapy en¬hances the efficacy of phototherapy and reduces the cumulative ultraviolet dose and duration of the therapy needed to treat chronic plaque psoriasis. Although TL-01 phototherapy has been used widely, there are few data about the effectiveness of the combination of acitretin with TL-01 in treatment of the disease. The aim of this study was to compare acitretin-narrow-band TL-01 photo¬therapy with acitretin-psoralen plus ultraviolet A (aci¬tretin-PUVA) in psoriasis. We studied 60 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who were randomly allocated to three times weekly treatment acitretin-¬narrow-band TL-01 or acitretin-PUVA. The efficacy of tre¬at¬ments was assessed using the Psoriasis Area and Seve¬rity Index by a blinded observer. Clearance of psoriasis was achieved in 56.6% of patients treated with acitretin-narrow-band TL-01 and in 63.3% of those treated with acitretin-PUVA. All of these patients remained clear of psoriasis 3 months after finishing the treatments. Mucocutaneous side-effects, such as dry lips and mouth, were the most common complaints in both groups. In conclusion, acitretin-narrow-band TL-01 is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, with a therapeutic effect equal to that of acitretin-PUVA.