Addition of Excimer Laser to Treatment With Acitretin Tablets for Psoriasis of the Palms and Soles

Plain-language summary

Psoriasis is a common skin disease that can affect 1-3% of the population. For more severe psoriasis, oral medication such as acitretin is sometimes given. While acitretin may be sufficient for treatment of some patients, psoriasis of the palms and soles is particularly challenging to treat, and may not respond to acitretin alone. In this study, the focus is on patients who have psoriasis of the palms and soles, and are currently taking acitretin. The aim is to initially recruit 10 patients and offer them treatment with a laser, the excimer laser, to one palm and one sole. Patients will receive laser treatment twice weekly for a total of 8 weeks, while also taking their acitretin tablet. If the side treated with the excimer laser shows greater improvement compared to the other side, the second part of the study will be conducted. In this second part, another 15 patients will be included. These patients will receive twice weekly treatments with the excimer laser to one both palms and/or soles, for a total of 8 weeks. The aim is to prove that the addition of excimer laser to treatment with acitretin will lead to greater improvement of psoriasis on palms and soles.

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Trial details