Abstract:

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of intralesional betamethasone versus triamcinolone acetonide acetate in the treatment of active alopecia areata. Methods A total of 160 patients with active alopecia areata were divided into two groups, test group （n = 100） treated with intralesional betamethasone, and control group （n = 60） treated with intralesional triamcinolone acetonide. Both injections were given once every 3 weeks for 12 consecutive weeks. Results After 12-week treatment, the cure rate, response rate, and total response rate were 60.0%, 32.0% and 92.0% in the test group, respectively, compared to 41.7%, 31.67% and 73.3% in the control group, respectively. A significant increase was observed in the cure rate and response rate in the test group compared with the control group （χ2 = 10.25, 5.06, P < 0.01 and 0.05）. During the treatment course, 8 （8%） patients in the test group and 9 （15%） patients in the control group developed localized atrophy of the scalp; 8 （8%） patients in the test group and 3 （5%） patients in the control group developed localized folliculitis; no significant difference was observed between the two groups in the occurrence of adverse reactions （P > 0.05）. Conclusion Intralesional use of compound betamethasone injection has a notable therapeutic effect on alopecia areata.

Key words: efficacy