ABSTRACT
Phototherapy is the use of specific wavelenghts of light that have shown effectiveness in the treatment of several cutaneous diseases. Current indications for phototherapy in Dermatology include multiple pathologies and it is considered to be costeffective. Literature about its use in children is rare, there are no studies on phototherapy in Chilean children. Patients and methods: Observational, descriptive, retrospective study. Clinical records of pediatric patients treated with phototherapy at University of Chile Clinical Hospital between 2007 and 2015, were studied. For each patient, the following parameters were analyzed: age of starting treatment, sex, skin phenotype, diagnosis, prescribed phototherapy and weekly frecuency. Results: 146 patients, 85 girls and 51 boys, average age 11.7 +/- 4.0 years. Predominant skin phenotype, was Fitzpatrick type III. Vitiligo was identified as the most common indication for phototherapy (52,2 percent), followed by psoriasis (22,6 percent). By a large margin, the most used type of phototherapy was nb UVB (96.6 percent). Most of the patients were treated twice per week (69.2 percent). Discussion: The obtained results in this group are similar to those results described in the international literature. Further studies are required for a better knowledge about efficacy and possible long-term effects of phototherapy on Chilean children.
Subject(s)
Humans , Adolescent , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Dermatology/instrumentation , Phototherapy/statistics & numerical data , Phototherapy/trends , ChileABSTRACT
Ultraviolet light has a wide spectrum of effects on human skin depending on the wavelength. Ultraviolet light often used for therapy of psoriasis comprises of electromagnetic spectrum ranging from 200nm – 400nm. Phototherapy of psoriasis is frequently used in combination regimens to achieve higher clearance rates, longer disease-free intervals, and to reduce the patient`s cumulative radiation dose thereby lowering the carcinogenic risk. Phototherapy may be combined with topical or systemic agents. Topical agents most commonly used are anthralin, tar, vitamin D analogues and tazarotene. Among systemic agents, retinoids are the most widely used. Ultraviolet B wavelengths in the range of 300-313nm is more efficacious than conventional broad-band UV-B [Philips TL 40W/12 lamp] and causes greater remission of psoriatic lesions. 311nm narrow-band UV-B (TL-01) phototherapy is more effective and probably has no greater risk than conventional UV-B (TL-12) phototherapy in the treatment of psoriasis.