Ibuprofen in the treatment of UV-B-induced inflammation

Ibuprofen and placebo were compared in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study of 19 psoriatic patients receiving UV-B phototherapy to evaluate the symptomatic relief of UV-B-induced inflammation. Signs and symptoms of UV-B-induced inflammation (erythema, pruritus, skin pain, general discomfort, and nocturnal restlessness) were assessed for each treatment. An evaluation of 104 treatments disclosed that, although ibuprofen significantly reduced technician-observed erythema, it was not significantly different from placebo for the five other end points studied. Separate evaluations of higher dose UV-B treatments showed a small, but statistically significant, reduction with ibuprofen for four of the six end points evaluated. The data suggest that ibuprofen is more effective than placebo for the relief of symptoms associated with UV-B-induced inflammation after high dose UV-B phototherapy for psoriasis, but the drug has limited usefulness in the treatment of sunburn reaction from these same doses.