308-nm excimer laser plus topical calcipotriol in the treatment of vitiligo; A single blind randomized clinical study

Background: There is a large variety of therapeutic agents for the treatment of vitiligo, but it still remains a challenge. Narrow-band UVB phototherapy and 308-nm excimer laser have been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of vitiligo. Topical calcipotriol has recently been reported to enhance the efficacy of phototherapy, especially 8-methoxypsoralen plus UVA (PUVA). The goal of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of topical calcipotriol enhances the efficacy of 308-nm excimer laser in the treatment of vitiligo. Methods: The patients with symmetrical vitiliginous lesions received 308-nm excimer laser plus Calcipotriol ointment 0.005% (Daivonex®) as the intervention group and 308 nm excimer laser plus vaselin as the control group on the lesions of the right side. All patients in the two groups applied vaselin on the lesions of the left side. The evaluation of the patients was performed at baseline and at 12th week (the last laser session). SPSS version 15.0 package software was used for statistical analysis. P-values< 0.05 were accepted as statistically significant. Results: Seventy out of 83 patients completed the study. The diameter of the right side lesions (308nm excimer laser + calcipotriol) changed from 27.21 cm2 to 15.82 cm2 in the intervention group and from 27.86 cm2 to 16.02 cm2 in the control group; This difference was not statistically significant (p-value=0.74). Conclusion: Our findings showed that 308-nm excimer laser was effective and safe in the treatment of vitiligo, and that topical calcipotriol had no additive or synergistic effect.