[Use of psoralen plus UV-A therapy in the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain].

BACKGROUND Photochemotherapy with 8-methoxypsoralen and long-wavelength UV-A (PUVA) has been extensively used for the treatment of various skin diseases since its approval in 1982 by the US Food and Drug Administration. METHODS A retrospective study was performed of patients treated with PUVA, including topical and systemic treatment, over a period of 14 years. All patients were treated using a standard PUVA therapy regimen. RESULTS A total of 877 patients were analyzed for the period 1982 to 1996. Forty-one skin diseases were treated, including 341 cases of psoriasis and 71 cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of the patients treated with PUVA therapy during that period and compare the results with those observed in other regions. CONCLUSIONS Although PUVA therapy is widely used in a large number of countries for the treatment of various skin diseases, few studies have described the characteristics of the patients and the differences in the parameters of PUVA according to the disease.