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R.S. Dawe, A new way of targeting phototherapy to body sites where it is needed, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 172, Issue 3, 1 March 2015, Pages 563–564, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.13663
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE, p 746
In this issue of the BJD Werfel et al.1 describe a digital phototherapy device. Twenty‐eight people with psoriasis had a lesion treated with broadband ultraviolet B (UVB) or psoralen–ultraviolet A (PUVA) using this device. The rest of each participant's skin was treated with topical therapies, narrowband UVB or conventional PUVA. This is a new method of targeting phototherapies to affected skin, while sparing other skin, to add to previously described approaches including dihydroxyacetone‐enhanced PUVA,2 3 308‐nm excimer lasers and similar high‐output polychromatic sources,4 and localized‐area treatment devices used in home phototherapy for vitiligo.5 6
The sites treated with digital phototherapy responded as well as the other sites. Seven of the participants received both digital phototherapy bath PUVA and conventional bath PUVA, allowing direct comparisons. There was no detectable difference in the amount of change (P = 0·086) in modified Psoriasis Area and Severity Index between these treatments, whereas the plaques treated with digital phototherapy received a median of five fewer treatments compared with conventional PUVA (P = 0·018). Generally, the digital phototherapy PUVA‐treated sites received higher ultraviolet doses.
