Ambulatory treatment of psoriasis with dithranol sticks--a novel paraffin formulation

The efficacy and tolerability of a novel stiff dithranol stick (Ditrastick, Orion, Espoo, Finland) were evaluated in an open multicenter trial comprising 121 outpatients with limited psoriasis of the plaque type. Daily treatment was started with 1.5% dithranol sticks and continued in most patients with 3% sticks after 2 weeks. An excellent or good result was obtained in over half of the patients. Early irritation of a rather narrow rim of the skin surrounding the lesions was common, but only about 10% of the patients discontinued the trial due to this side effect. Paraffin-based dithranol sticks thus enable ambulatory treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis in the areas of predilection. Dithranol is stable in this novel preparation for at least 3 years.