Abstract
Phototherapy is the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and vitiligo. Patients with generalized disease or disease unresponsive to topical treatments are good candidates for phototherapy. Ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy is the most commonly practiced and includes narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) and broadband UVB (BB-UVB). Patients are treated two to three times per week for approximately 12 weeks, with a potential ongoing maintenance regimen of once or twice weekly phototherapy sessions. The dose of UV light is initiated at low dose and increased as tolerated. Phototherapy is extremely safe and effective. Approximately 70% of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis achieve at least 75% improvement of their psoriasis over 12 weeks. Common side effects include erythema, burning, and tanning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Racz E, Prens EP. Phototherapy and photochemotherapy for psoriasis. Dermatol Clin. 2015;33(1):79–89.
Wan J, Abuabara K, Troxel AB, et al. Dermatologist preferences for first-line therapy of moderate to severe psoriasis in healthy adult patients. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2012;66(3):376–86.
Huynh M, Debbaneh MG, Levin EC, Koo JYM. The art and practice of phototherapy and laser. In: Koo JYM, Levin EC, Leon A, Wu JJ, Gottlieb AB, editors. Moderate to severe psoriasis. Baton Rouge: CRC Press; 2014. p. 67–97.
Housman TS, Rohrback JM, Fleischer Jr AB, et al. Phototherapy utilization for psoriasis is declining in the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2002;46(4):557–9.
Singh RK, Lee KM, Jose MV, et al. The patient’s guide to Psoriasis Treatment. Part 1: UVB phototherapy. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2016;6(3):307–13.
Almutawa F, Alnomair N, Wang Y, et al. Systematic review of UV-based therapy for psoriasis. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2013;14(2):87–109.
Chen X, Yang M, Cheng Y, et al. Narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy versus broad-band ultraviolet B or psoralen-ultraviolet A photochemotherapy for psoriasis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(10):CD009481.
Wang E, Sasaki J, Nakamura M, Koo J. Cutaneous carcinogenic risk of phototherapy: an updated comprehensive review. J Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arth winter. 2015;1(1):44–51.
Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: section 5. Guidelines of care for the treatment of psoriasis with phototherapy and photochemotherapy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010;62(1):114–35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koo, J., Nakamura, M. (2017). Ultraviolet B Phototherapy for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis. In: Clinical Cases in Phototherapy. Clinical Cases in Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51599-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51599-1_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51598-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51599-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)