A comparative study of calcipotriol and anthralin for chronic plaque psoriasis in a day care treatment center.

Eighteen patients with symmetric plaque-type psoriasis were recruited for an open, controlled, bilateral half-body comparison study to evaluate the efficacy of calcipotriol/tar/UVB vs. anthralin/tar/UVB in a day care treatment setting. No patient had been on systemic antipsoriatic agents for at least 3 months prior to enrolment. One half-body was arbitrarily assigned to treatment with gradually increasing concentrations of anthralin as tolerated. The other half-body received calcipotriol ointment twice daily. Both sides received UVB and additional coal tar distillate in accordance with our standard day care regimen. Patients who were admitted to the day care program attended the clinic for UVB, anthralin, and calcipotriol on weekdays for two consecutive weeks. Anthralin was applied to psoriatic plaques on one side in the following fashion: anthralin 0.1% with salicylic acid 3% in zinc oxide paste on days 1 and 2; anthralin 0.2% with salicylic acid 3% in zinc oxide paste on days 3–5; anthralin 1% with salicylic acid 3% in hydrophilic petrolatum for 60 min on days 8–10 to thicker lesions; and anthralin 2% with salicylic acid 3% in hydrophilic petrolatum for 60 min on day 11 to thicker lesions. On the contralateral side, calcipotriol ointment 0.05 μg/mL (Leo Pharmaceuticals, Ajax, Ontario) was applied to lesions twice daily. No anthralin or calcipotriol was applied on weekends. All patients applied coal tar oil 50% (Doak Oil Forte, Trans CanaDerm, St-Laurent, Québec, equivalent to 5% coal tar distillate) with salicylic acid 5% in hydrophilic petrolatum to their lesions at home in the evenings and on weekends. UVB (FSX72T12 lamps, National Biologic Corporation, Twinsburg, Ohio) was administered twice daily on weekdays in increasing doses as tolerated (to erythema) prior to the application of the topical medications. No trial medications were applied to the face, scalp, or genital regions. For clinical evaluation, the standard Psoriasis... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]