1
Fifth stage
Dermatology
Lec-3
د.عمر
10/11/2015
Psoriasis (cont.) & other Papulosquamous Diseases
Treatment of psoriasis
• Many topical and systemic agents are available.
• None of the topical medications is predictably effective.
• All topicals require lengthy treatment to give relief that is often temporary.
• Compliance is a problem, patients become discouraged with moderately effective and
expensive
topical treatment that lasts weeks or months.
• Limited disease (<20% body surface area) can be managed with topical therapy only.
Determining the degree of inflammation
• The most common form of psoriasis is the localized chronic plaque disease involving
the skin and scalp.
• It must be determined whether the plaque is inflamed before instituting therapy.
• Red, sore plaques can be irritated by tar, calcipotriol, and anthralin. Irritation can
induce further activity.
• Inflammation should be suppressed with topical steroids and/or antibiotics before
initiating other treatments.
Determining the end of treatment
• The plaque is effectively treated when induration has disappeared.
• Residual erythema, hypopigmentation, or brown hyperpigmentation is common when
the plaque clears.
• Patients frequently mistake the residual color for disease and continue treatment.
• If the plaque cannot be felt by drawing the finger over the skin surface, treatment may
be stopped.
Stress control
A study demonstrated a positive correlation between the severity of psoriatic symptoms
and psychologic distress.
Stress reduction techniques may be appropriate for certain patients.
Topical steroids
• Rapid response. Control inflammation and itching. Best for intertriginous areas and
face. Convenient, and not messy.
2
• Temporary relief. Tolerance occurs. Brief remissions. Expensive.
• Best results occur with pulse dosing (e.g., 2 weeks of medication and 1 week of
lubrication only).
• Plastic occlusion is very effective but not used in intertriginous areas and not with
superpotent steroids.
• S.E.?
• Patients with a few, small, chronic psoriatic plaques of the scalp or body can be
effectively treated with a single or few intralesional injection of triamcinolone
acetonide. Remissions are long. The face and intertriginous areas are avoided here.
Calcipotriene (Dovonex cream) 0.005%
• Is a vitamin D
3
analogue
• Inhibits epidermal cell proliferation and enhances cell differentiation.
• Well tolerated. Long remissions possible.
• Burning, skin irritation, expensive.
• Valuable for long-term scalp treatment programs (Dovonex scalp solution).
• Not more than 100g per week is used
• Newer combination product (Dovobet) is more effective (calcipotriene hydrate plus
betamethasone dipropionate).
• Hypercalcemia can occur.
Ultraviolet light B
• Wave length = (290-320nm)
• The most effective topical programs use UVB in combination with lubricating agents,
tar, or tazarotene.
• Also, the combination of UVB phototherapy with systemic agents can be very effective.
• Combining methotrexate (or acitretin) and UVB results in clearing of extensive
psoriasis and reduces the cumulative dose (and thus toxicity) of both.
• Treatment with narrow-band UVB (311 nm) is superior to treatment with broadband
UVB.
• UVB is the treatment of choice in guttate psoriasis.
Photochemotherapy
• Also called PUVA because of the use of psoralens (P) (photosensitizers), along with
exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light (UVAI 340-400).
• PUVA can control severe psoriasis with relatively few maintenance sessions, and can
be done on an outpatient basis.
• PUVA is indicated for the symptomatic control of severe, recalcitrant, and disabling
plaque psoriasis that is not responsive to other forms of therapy.
• Pustular psoriasis of the palms and soles responds best to PUVA-acitretin.
• Psoriatic arthropathy (nonspondylitic) may respond to PUVA.
• Because of the concerns about long-term toxicity, PUVA is most appropriate for severe
psoriasis in patients older than 50 years of age.
• Light does not penetrate hair
3
PUVA Side effects
• Long term side effects (most of which are dose-dependant):
• Skin tumors.
• PUVA promotes skin aging, actinic keratoses, and squamous cell
• carcinoma (SCC).
• Risk of genital tumors in males with exposure to PUVA and UVB.
• Approximately 15 years after the first treatment with PUVA, the risk of
• malignant melanoma increases, especially among patients who receive
• 250 treatments or more.
• Lentigines. Small black macules occur in PUVA-exposed sites.
• Cataracts. The incidence seems to be very low if eye protection is used during the first
two days of PUVA treatment (from the time the drug is ingested until the end of the
following day).
• Short-term side effects include dark tanning, pruritus, nausea, and severe sunburn.
Treatment of scalp psoriasis
• Scale must be removed first to facilitate penetration of medicine.
• Superficial, thin scale can be removed with shampoos that contain tar and salicylic acid
(e.g., T/Gel).
• Thicker scale is removed by massaging the scalp with 10% liquor carbonis detergens
(LCD) in Nivea oil and washing the scalp 6 to 8 hours later with shampoo. Combing
during washing helps dislodge scale. Nightly applications are continued until the scalp
is acceptably clear.
Treating scalp psoriatic lesions:
• Steroid gels (e.g., fluocinonide gel, clobetasol gel).
• Betamethasone foam and clobetasol foam are also effective.
• Small plaques are treated with intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide.
• Ketoconazole cream is sometimes useful. Oral ketoconazole (400 mg daily) may be
effective.
• Dovobet is a topical suspension for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis of
the scalp in adults.
• 10% LCD in Nivea oil applied to the scalp, covered with a shower cap and washed out
each morning, removes scale and suppresses inflammation.
Treatment of psoriatic arthritis
1. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
2. Intra-articular steroid injections
3. Methotrexate
4. Biologics
5. Cyclosporine
6. PUVA
4
Systemic treatment of psoriasis
Indications
Moderate-to-severe psoriasis (20% or more involvement of body surface area).
Patient is unresponsive to topical therapy.
A number of systemic drugs are available, some of which have potentially serious side
effects.
Methotrexate is highly effective, relatively safe, and well-tolerated
Photochemotherapy (PUVA) is effective and relatively safe.
Acitretin is used to potentiate the effects of PUVA and as a monotherapy for plaque,
pustular, and erythrodermic forms of psoriasis.
Cyclosporine is rapidly effective, but long-term use may be associated with loss of kidney
function.
Biologic drugs (eg., adalimumab and etanercept) are safe and effective and are rapidly
becoming the preferred systemic therapy for psoriasis. Very expensive.
PITYRIASIS ROSEA
Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a common, benign, usually asymptomatic, distinctive, self-limiting
skin eruption of unknown etiology.
There is some evidence that human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and 7 (HHV-7) may be involved.
More than 75% of cases occur between 10 and 35 years of age with an age range of 4
months to 78 years.
Recurrence rate is about 2%.
The incidence is higher during winter time.
Upper respiratory tract infection occurs before the eruption in about 70% of cases.
CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS
Typically, the herald patch, a single 2- to 10-cm round-to-oval lesion, abruptly appears in
17% of patients. May occur anywhere, but is most frequently located on the trunk or
proximal extremities.
Within a few days to several weeks the disease enters the eruptive phase and reach its
maximum in 1 to 2 weeks.
Lesions are typically limited to the trunk (lower trunk) and proximal extremities, but any
area could be affected
Individual lesions are salmon pink in whites and hyperpigmented in blacks.
Typically 1- to 2-cm oval plaques appear, a fine, wrinkled, tissue-like scale remains
attached within the border of the plaque, giving the characteristic ring of scale, called
collarette scale.
5
The long axis of the oval plaques is oriented along skin lines. Numerous lesions on the
back, oriented along skin lines, give the appearance of drooping pine-tree branches, which
explains the designation “Christmas-tree distribution.”
The number of lesions varies from a few to hundreds.
Differential diagnosis
1. Secondary syphilis
2. Guttate psoriasis
3. Viral exanthems
4. Tinea corporis
5. Nummular eczema
6. Drug eruptions
Management of PR
Whether or not PR is contagious is unknown.
The disease is benign and self-limited and can resolve spontaneously.
Oral erythromycin 250 mg 4 times daily for 2 weeks.
Group V topical steroids (eg., fluticasone propionate cream 0.05%) and oral
antihistamines may be used as needed for itching.
UVB phototherapy five times per week for 2 weeks.
Oral acyclovir (800 mg five times daily for 1 week).
Lichen Planus
Lichen planus (LP) is a unique inflammatory cutaneous and mucous membrane reaction
pattern of unknown etiology.
The disease may occur at any age, it is rare in children younger than 5 years. The mean
age of onset is 40 years in males and 46 years in females.
The main eruption clears within 1 year in about 70% of patients, but 50% of eruptions
recur.
Approximately 10% of patients have a positive family history.
Cutaneous and oral LP may be associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related, chronic,
active hepatitis.
Various patterns of lichen planus
Most common site
Actinic
Sun-exposed areas
Annular
Trunk, external genitalia
Atrophic
Any area
Erosioulcerative
Soles of feet, mouth
6
Follicular (lichen planopilaris)
Scalp
Guttate (numerous) small papules
Trunk
Hypertrophic
Lower limbs (especially ankles)
Linear
Zosteriform (leg), scratched area
Nail disease
Fingernails
Papular (localized)
Flexor surface (wrists and forearms)
Vesiculobullous
Lower limbs, mouth
Eruptions from drugs (e.g., gold, chloroquine, methyldopa, penicillamine), chemical
exposure (film processing), bacterial infections (secondary syphilis), and post–bone
marrow transplants (graft-versus-host reaction) that have a similar appearance are
referred to as lichenoid.
PRIMARY LESIONS
The five Ps rule of lichen planus: pruritic, planar (flat-topped), polyangular, purple
papules.
The primary lesion is a <1cm flat-topped papule with an irregular angulated border
(polygonal papules).
Close inspection of the surface shows a lacy, reticular pattern of crisscrossed, whitish
lines (Wickham’s striae) that can be accentuated by a drop of immersion oil.
Papules aggregate into different patterns, they may also Koebnerize.
Many patients have persistent brown staining many years after the rash has cleared.
Localized LP
Papules are most commonly located on the flexor surfaces of the wrists and forearms,
the legs immediately above the ankles and the lumbar region.
Itching is variable; 20% of patients with LP do not itch. Itch does not necessarily correlate
with disease severity.
The course is unpredictable. Some patients experience spontaneous remission in a few
months, but the most common localized papular form tends to be chronic and endures
for an average of approximately 4 years.
7
Treatment
THERAPY FOR CUTANEOUS LICHEN PLANUS
1. Topical steroids
2. Intralesional steroids
3. Systemic steroids
4. Acitretin
5. Azathioprine
6. Cyclosporine
7. Antihistamines
8. Light therapy
9. PUVA (psoralen + UVA light) and broadband and narrow-band UVB therapy.
10. Tacrolimus ointment: Ulcerative lichen planus of the sole may respond to topical
tacrolimus 0.1% ointment.
THERAPY FOR MUCOUS MEMBRANE LICHEN PLANUS
The course of oral and vaginal lichen planus can extend for years.
Consider a biopsy to establish the diagnosis.
Most patients are asymptomatic (non-erosive type) and do not need treatment.
Tacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream.
Corticosteroids (topical, systemic and intralesional)
Dapsone
Hydroxychloroquine
Azathioprine
Mycophenolate mofetil