Treatment of oral lichen planus with topical tacrolimus and triamcinolone acetonide ointment - a comparative study

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of topical Tacrolimus ointment with that of Triamcinolone Acetonide ointment on patients suffering from oral lichen planus. A total of sixty patients [53 females and 07 males, means age 48 years; 30 patients per groups] were treated with Tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppresor drug and Triamcinolone acetonide for three months in a randomized clinical trial. Thirty patients [group 1] were treated with topical Tacrolimus [0.1%, 0.003%] ointment four times daily and thirty patients [group II] were treated with Triamcinolone Acetonide 0.1% ointment four times daily. The clinical effects were graded after 1, 2, and 3 months of treatment. Visual analogue scale 0-10 was used to access the severity of pain before and after treatment. In group 1, Sixteen patients showed healed lesion, 10 showed improvement and 4 showed no improvement. In group II, 5 were healed, 9 patients showed 50% improvement and 16 showed no improvement. No side effects of these drugs were reported in these patients. Topical tacrolimus ointment induced a better initial therapeutic response than Triamcinolone acetonide ointment. However, relapse occured in 12 cases within 6-8 weeks of the cessation of the therapy