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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Published on: July 11, 2013
LCD plus NB-UVB reduces time to improvement of psoriasis vs. NB-UVB alone
1Psoriasis Treatment Center of Central New Jersey, East Windsor, NJ 08520, USA. dreamacres1@aol.com
Background:
Use of coal tar with narrowband (NB) ultraviolet B (UVB) light (the Goeckerman regimen) is an effective treatment for plaque psoriasis that has become impractical in outpatient care mainly due to the inconvenience and aesthetic concerns of coal tar.
Objective:
This study evaluated the safety, efficacy, and convenience of adding a novel LCD (coal tar) solution to standard NB-UVB phototherapy in adults with chronic plaque psoriasis.
Methods:
Patients applied LCD solution to half-body twice daily at home and received outpatient full-body NB-UVB light therapy 3 times a week for up to 12 weeks. A blinded investigator graded psoriasis severity of body halves and bilateral target lesions and monitored adverse reactions. Patients rated their psoriasis symptoms and LCD solution aesthetics.
Results:
NB-UVB + LCD therapy reduced the median time to clearance or minimal disease in at least 50% of the population by 3 weeks (4 weeks with NB-UVB + LCD versus 7 weeks with NB-UVB alone). A statistically superior clinical response was observed by the end of week 4 with NB-UVB + LCD versus NB-UVB alone (P < 0.05) for: PGA, target lesions, ESI scores, and patient-reported symptoms.
Conclusion:
Incorporating an at-home regimen with a novel LCD solution into outpatient NB-UVB light therapy is safe, convenient, effective, and can improve psoriasis more quickly than NB-UVB light therapy alone.
