New-insight UVB Treatment for Psoriasis Vulgaris in Vietnamese Patients

Narrowband UVB (NBUVB) has recently been used in Vietnam for the treatment of psoriasis. However, there are no data on Vietnamese patients to adopt a uniform national protocol. This study aimed to establish an optimal NBUVB therapy for the treatment of psoriasis in Vietnamese patients. One hundred and twenty-two patients with psoriasis vulgaris were included. They were randomly allocated to two groups: the percentage dose (group 1, 62 patients) and the fixed dose (group 2, 60 patients). In group 1, the starting dose was 50% of the minimal erythema dose (MED) and the 10% increment dose adjusted in the next sessions. In group 2, the starting dose was based on Fitzpatrick skin types (fixed dose). Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) was used to evaluate efficacy. More than 68% of the patients get PASI75 at session 36. Group 2 had significantly fewer sessions (20 ± 5 vs 25 ± 7, value = 0.0004) and lower cumulative dose than group 1 (14.1 ± 4.3 J/cm vs 18.0 ± 8.0 J/cm , value = 0.0075) to achieve PASI75. Adverse effects were more common in group 2 than group 1, including burning sensation/erythema (43.33% vs 14.52%, value = 0.0009) and pruritus (75.00% vs 22.58%, value