Personal solar UV-A doses received by patients undergoing oral psoralen photochemotherapy for psoriasis

Patients undergoing oral psoralen photochemotherapy (PUVA) for psoriasis receive a known amount of UV-A in the treatment cubicle and an unknown amount of UV-A from sunlight. In order to measure the solar UV-A dose, fifty-six patients received a UV-sensitive film badge to be worn from the time they took their psoralen tablet throughout the course of the day, except during treatment. The UV-A doses measured in this way varied from less than 0.2 J cm-2 to 7 J cm-2, with a median of around 1 J cm-2. These results show that the solar UV-A received by patients who have been photosensitized by 8-MOP may not be insignificant in relation to the treatment dose.