PUVA treatment in Sweden

To investigate the pattern of PUVA treatment in Sweden, eleven centers supplied protocols of 4945 PUVA-treated patients between 1974 and 1985. The information collected was evaluated by computer. The most common indications for PUVA treatment were: Psoriasis; 64%, Pustulosis Palmo Plantaris; 10.5%, and Eczema; 9.4%. Fifty-five different diagnoses were reported. The treated area was mainly the whole body; 70.6%. The type of psoralen regimen varied between different centers, but oral 8-MOP was the dominating psoralen; 77.1%. Forty-five patients had received more than 400 treatments, the highest number being 758, and 537 patients had received more than a total dose of 1000 J/cm2, the highest being 6476 J/cm2. The average PUVA dose per treatment was highest for Vitiligo patients but Alopecia Areata and Pustulosis Palmo Plantaris also received high doses per treatment. One hundred and thirty-eight patients were treated for Mycosis Fungoides and 11 for Sézary's Syndrome.