Clinical effectiveness of combined phototherapy in the treatment of patients with atopic dermatitis

Background. Due to the insufficient effectiveness of currently known methods of treating patients with atopic dermatitis (ATD), there is a need to find new approaches to solve this problem. Aims: The study was conducted in order to study the possibility of improving the effectiveness of basic therapy for patients with ATD using combined phototherapy (FT) of narrow-band medium-wave and wide-band long-wave ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Materials and methods. In a group of 62 patients (average age 24.1 ± 6.1 years), a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of ATD basic drug therapy (BT) and complex treatment using combined FT of narrow-band medium-wave (311 nm) and wide-band long-wave radiation in the range of 320–400 nm was performed. Results . When using BT and combined FT (CFT) together, there is a potentiation of the clinical effects of the used therapeutic methods. The reduction in the relative risk of the disease recurrence in the С FT + BT group (compared to the BT group) during the year of follow-up was 42%. Conclusion. The developed method of treatment using combined phototherapy provides a more effective reduction in the severity of skin manifestations of ATD according to the SCORAD index by 34.2% and an improvement in the quality of life by 43.5%, as well as a reduction in the relative risk of the disease recurrence by 42% compared to the results of basic drug therapy.