Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis With an Excimer Laser Utilizing an Optimal Therapeutic UVB Dose Protocol
Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated disease that mainly affects the skin and joints.
Treatment for psoriasis depends on the severity, along with many other factors, and limited psoriasis can often be treated with topical agents, while patients with moderate to severe disease may also need phototherapy by ultraviolet irradiation or systemic therapy.
[…] treatment with the excimer laser was well tolerated. Similar to previous reports,11,14-16 erythema was the most common adverse event. No erosions or hyperpigmentation were reported. Two patients experienced blistering after initiation of the actual treatment. Blistering is an expected side effect in phototherapy with the excimer laser, and is usually well tolerated by patients.14,17,18 Blistering might be related to the user’s techniques (overlapping of laser treatment fields), or it may occur if the plaque’s thickness varies.
The OTDTM protocol with the MMD tip allows adjusting the treatment dose with the excimer laser to specific plaques, resulting in more effective dosing levels and a lower frequency of treatment sessions.