Therapeutic Effects of 308 nm Excimer Laser in the Treatment of Vitiligo Patients: A Single Center Study in Korea / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Treatment with a 308 nm excimer laser has been used widely for vitiligo. However, there have been few clinical reports about the therapeutic effects of excimer laser in the Korean literature. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of treatment of vitiligo patients in Korea using a 308 nm excimer laser. METHODS: Eighty-five patients were treated using a 308 nm excimer laser, which was performed twice a week, for a total of 20 treatments. We analyzed the grade of repigmentation with respect to various clinical parameters. RESULTS: Thirty-one of the 85 patients (36.5%) achieved more than 50% repigmentation. Response to treatment was related to age, duration of vitiligo, type of vitiligo and site of lesions (respectively, p=0.049, 0.030, 0.001, 0.001). There were no relationship between treatment response, sex and history of previous treatments (respectively, p=0.636, 0.781). Twenty-nine patients (34.1%) had side effects including erythema, perilesional hyperpigmentation and burn, but they were mild and transient. CONCLUSION: The use of a 308 nm excimer laser for the treatment of vitiligo patients is effective and safe. However, patient age, duration of vitiligo, type of vitiligo and site of lesions may be the key factors affecting the clinical outcome.