Chinese Journal of Dermatology ›› 2018, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (10): 749-751.doi: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0412-4030.2018.10.010

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Efficacy of home versus hospital narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy for vitiligo

Lei Jiehao, Fan Qimin, Xu Ai′e   

  1. Department of Dermatology, Hangzhou Third Hospital, Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China
  • Received:2017-12-14 Revised:2017-12-29 Online:2018-10-15 Published:2018-10-03
  • Contact: Xu Ai′e E-mail:xuaiehz@msn.com
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773335, 81472887, 81271758); Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Health -- Major Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (WKJ2012-2-036); Major Science and Technology Innovation Projects of Hangzhou (20122513A02)

Abstract: Objective To compare the efficacy and acceptance of home versus hospital narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy for vitiligo. Methods Eighty patients with vitiligo were collected at the Department of Dermatology of Hangzhou Third Hospital from August 2016 to September 2017, and randomly and equally divided into two groups to be treated with home (home NB-UVB group) or hospital NB-UVB phototherapy (hospital NB-UVB group) twice a week for 36 sessions. After the treatment, the efficacy, adverse reactions and patient acceptance were evaluated. Results Finally, 39 patients in the home NB-UVB group and 37 in the hospital NB-UVB group completed the treatment. The response rates in the face and neck, trunk and extremities were 62.5%, 48.6% and 42.3% respectively in the home NB-UVB group, and were 66.7%, 55.9% and 48.6% respectively in the hospital NB-UVB group. There were no significant differences in the response rate, cumulative dosage required for initial repigmentation and cumulative dosage at the end of treatment at the same body site between the 2 groups. The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly higher in the home NB-UVB group than in the hospital NB-UVB group (61.5% vs. 24.3%, P < 0.05), and the duration of a single treatment was significantly shorter in the home NB-UVB group than in the hospital NB-UVB group (27.95 min vs. 129.73 min, P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the patient acceptance in the home NB-UVB group significantly increased along with the improvement of efficacy (β = 0.483, t = 4.573, P < 0.001), but decreased along with the increase of treatment duration (β = -0.569, t = -5.831, P < 0.001). However, the patient acceptance in the hospital NB-UVB group significantly increased along with the improvement of efficacy (β = 0.758, t = 7.547, P < 0.001), but was not correlated with the treatment duration (β = -0.204, t = -2.030, P = 0.05). Conclusions The home and hospital NB-UVB phototherapy can complement each other for the treatment of vitiligo. Appropriate therapy should be chosen for different patients, so as to enhance patient compliance, which is an essential condition for the improvement of efficacy.

Key words: Vitiligo, Ultraviolet rays, Phototherapy, Family, Hospitals

CLC Number: 

  • R75