Prevalence study of dermatoses referred to the phototherapy unit at the Dermatology Service of the Clinics Hospital of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Estudo de prevalência das dermatoses encaminhadas ao setor de fototerapia do ambulatório de dermatologia do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

BACKGROUND: Phototherapy consists of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for therapeutic reasons. Radiation is already used in dermatological practice, and many studies have already proved the beneficial effect of UV light treatment for chronic inflammatory or lymphoproliferative skin diseases. The De...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Carolina Casara, Leticia Eidt, Vivian Cunha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Dermatologia 2013-04-01
Series:Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0365-05962013000200211
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND: Phototherapy consists of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for therapeutic reasons. Radiation is already used in dermatological practice, and many studies have already proved the beneficial effect of UV light treatment for chronic inflammatory or lymphoproliferative skin diseases. The Dermatology Service of the Clinics Hospital of Porto Alegre (Hospital de Cl&#237;nicas de Porto Alegre) has been using phototherapy for a long time, and no official data have been described so far. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of dermatoses referred to the phototherapy unit at the Clinics Hospital of Porto Alegre and describe the total number of patients who have already been referred to this sector and their phototype. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data were collected through a review of the phototherapy patients' records (secondary data), which are available on a database of the Dermatology Service of the Clinics Hospital of Porto Alegre, from August 1997 to July 2011. RESULTS: A total of 653 records were analyzed. Phototype 3 was the most prevalent (n=313). Distribution of the prevalence of dermatoses referred to the phototherapy unit was as follows: vitiligo (279), psoriasis (255), cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/mycosis fungoides (29), graftversus-host disease (15), scleroderma (11), atopic dermatitis (10), alopecia areata (6), parapsoriasis (5), eczema (4), granuloma annulare (4), and others (35). As vitiligo and psoriasis were the two most prevalent dermatoses, they were analyzed separately, with no statistical difference in prevalence between them (P=0,177). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are in accordance with the literature, showing that although phototherapy is still mostly indicated to treat psoriasis, it has been used to treat other dermatoses, since the results are promising.<br> FUNDAMENTOS: Fototerapia &#233; exposi&#231;&#227;o &#224; radia&#231;&#227;o ultravioleta para uso terap&#234;utico. O uso dessas radia&#231;&#245;es j&#225; &#233; utilizado na pr&#225;tica dermatol&#243;gica, e estudos j&#225; provaram o efeito ben&#233;fico do tratamento UV em doen&#231;as inflamat&#243;rias cr&#244;nicas ou linfoproliferativas. O Servi&#231;o de Dermatologia do Hospital de Cl&#237;nicas de Porto Alegre tem disponibilizado a fototerapia para seus pacientes h&#225; um longo tempo, sem dados oficiais descritos at&#233; ent&#227;o. OBJETIVO: Estudar a preval&#234;ncia das dermatoses encaminhadas &#224; fototerapia do Hospital de Cl&#237;nicas de Porto Alegre e descrever o n&#250;mero total de pacientes j&#225; encaminhados a esse setor e seu fototipo. M&#201;TODOS: Estudo transversal descritivo. A coleta de dados foi feita por revis&#227;o da totalidade das fichas de cadastro dos pacientes de fototerapia (dados secund&#225;rios), as quais se encontram em um banco de dados no Servi&#231;o de Dermatologia do Hospital de Cl&#237;nicas de Porto Alegre, de agosto de 1997 a julho de 2011. RESULTADOS: Ao todo 653 pacientes foram analisados. O fototipo 3 foi o mais prevalente (n=313). A distribui&#231;&#227;o da preval&#234;ncia das dermatoses foi: vitiligo (279), psor&#237;ase (255), linfoma cut&#226;neo de c&#233;lulas T/ micose fung&#243;ide (29), doen&#231;a do enxerto versus hospedeiro (15), esclerodermia (11), dermatite at&#243;pica (10), alop&#233;cia areata (6), parapsor&#237;ase (5), eczema (4), granuloma anular (4) e outros (35). Visto que vitiligo e psor&#237;ase foram as dermatoses mais prevalentes, eles foram analisados separadamente. N&#227;o houve diferen&#231;a estat&#237;stica entre as preval&#234;ncias (P = 0, 177). CONCLUS&#213;ES: Nossos resultados est&#227;o em conformidade com a literatura, e mostram que, apesar da psor&#237;ase ainda ser a principal indica&#231;&#227;o para a fototerapia, outras dermatoses est&#227;o sendo tratadas com ela, uma vez que seus resultados tem sido promissores.
ISSN:0365-0596
1806-4841