Correlation of Disease Activity and Quality of Life of Patients with Psoriasis after Narrow-band Ultraviolet B Therapy

Abstract

Introduction: Treatment with ultraviolet light is a well-established and effective treatment option for mild to moderate psoriasis. The aims of the study were to measure the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) reduction after narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB UVB) therapy, to evaluate the quality of life before and after treatment using the dermatology life quality index (DLQI), and to compare the clinical effectiveness with quality of life improvement.   Material and methods: Twenty two patients (13 male and 9 female patients), aged between 21 to 70 years (mean age 40±14.65 years) were enrolled in the study. NB UVB treatment was performed with 10 to 25 (mean 18.5; SD 3.39) procedures with cumulative doses of 5 to 19.4 J/cm2. The baseline median PASI score was 20.027 which decreased after therapy to 11.11. More than PASI 50% reduction was achieved in 40.91% of the patients after at least 6 weeks of treatment and the results are highly statistically significant. Quality of life (QoL) assessed using DLQI was found moderately affected by disease pretreatment. NB UVB therapy significantly increased DLQI score in spectrum of ‘symptoms and feelings’ and ‘treatment’.   Discussion: The PASI score reduction that we observed after NB-UVB therapy is consistent with the results reported by other authors. Baseline DLQI scores were indicative of moderate QoL impairments associated with disease. At the same time, the reduction of the DLQI index corresponding to improved QoL correlated with the objective clinical symptom assessment.    Conclusion: Our data suggest that DLQI and PASI indexes are important complementary methods for comprehensive health assessment of patients with psoriasis.