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Wolf, P; Georgas, D; Tomi, NS; Schempp, CM; Hoffmann, K.
Extracorporeal photochemotherapy as systemic monotherapy of severe, refractory atopic dermatitis: results from a prospective trial
Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2013; 12(1):174-181 Doi: 10.1039/c2pp25203a
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Leading authors Med Uni Graz: Wolf Peter
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Abstract:: Background: Previous work has indicated that extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) may be a safe and effective treatment in patients with severe atopic dermatitis. Methods: We performed a prospective study to investigate the effect of a defined 20-week ECP protocol in patients with severe, refractory atopic dermatitis. The patient inclusion criteria included (i) disease duration of at least 1 year, (ii) SCORAD > 45, and (iii) resistance to first-line therapy, including topical steroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors, and one form of phototherapy (UVA, UVB, or PUVA) or one second-line therapy, including systemic steroids or cyclosporine. Ten patients (4 women and 6 men; age range 29 to 61 years) were enrolled and treated with two sessions of standard ECP in 2-week intervals for 12 weeks and 4-week intervals thereafter until week 20. The patients' clinical status and response was determined by SCORAD at baseline and every 2 weeks, and quality of life was assessed every 4 weeks using SKINDEX, SF-36, and FACT scores. Results: There was a statistically significant (p = 0.015) reduction of the mean SCORAD by 10.3 (95% CI, 2.5 to 18.0) from 64.8 at baseline to 54.5 (i. e., 15.9% reduction) at week 20. In a subset of patients (all of female sex), the relative reduction in SCORAD after ECP was more than 25% at week 20. Improvement in quality of life measured by SKINDEX, SF-36, and FACT did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: We detected a small but significant therapeutic effect of ECP in patients with severe, refractory atopic dermatitis.
Find related publications in this database (using NLM MeSH Indexing): Adult -; Alkaline Phosphatase - blood; Cyclosporine - therapeutic use; Dermatitis, Atopic - metabolism Dermatitis, Atopic - pathology Dermatitis, Atopic - therapy; Drug Administration Schedule -; Female -; Humans -; Leukocyte Count -; Male -; Middle Aged -; Photopheresis -; Potassium - blood; Prospective Studies -; Quality of Life -; Steroids - therapeutic use; Ultraviolet Rays -