European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Around the world, 0.5–2% of people are thought to have vitiligo, a prevalent depigmenting skin condition. Melanocytes are selectively lost during the illness, resulting in distinctive nonscaly, chalky-white macules. Although vitiligo is sometimes written off as a cosmetic issue, it may have terrible psychological implications and significantly interfere with everyday living.
Methods: N=25 patients of either sex with stable generalized type, acral, or acrofacial vitiligo, and > 20% body surface area involvement was included in the study. All patients were inspected in well-lit conditions. Important factors were distribution, number of lesions, the color of lesions, affected skin locations, approximation of the surface area of depigmentation, vitiligo pattern, and mucosal involvement. 8-MOP pills were administered in accordance with the patient's weight. The patients were placed in an artificial phototherapy chamber for UVA exposure after one and a half to two hours, commencing with a dosage of 4 J/m2 for the entire body.
Results: The mean age of the cases in the study was 40.5 ± 10.5 years and the mean number of patches was 26.55 ± 7.5 and the mean duration number of months was 92.55 ± 15.5. The mean extent of lesions was 30.05 ± 5.5 and the mean percentage of the area involved was 32.25 ± 8.56 and the mean number of sittings was 60.5 ± 12.15. The overall response in various types of vitiligo has been studied in the study. The overall response was good and excellent in 64.7% of cases followed by a moderate response in 29.41% of cases. Similarly, in acral vitiligo cases, 50% of cases showed a good response and 50% showed a moderate response to PUVA therapy. In acro facial vitiligo cases, a moderate response was shown in 75% of cases and a good response in 25% of cases.
Conclusion: The surface area of involvement was directly linked to the number of sessions needed to induce pigmentation, which was the only element in our study to have a statistically significant impact on the overall response rate. it can be concluded that PUVA is a safe, efficient, and acceptable cosmetic treatment for vitiligo.