Combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon α1b injection and acupuncture on verruca vulgaris: a retrospective study.

Verruca vulgaris is always stubborn to treat. We applied a new combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon alpha 1b (rhIFNα1b) injection plus acupuncture on verruca vulgaris recently to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combined therapy. The retrospective study was conducted in The First Hospital of China Medical University from 2018 to 2020. Patients with verruca vulgaris were included. Combined therapy with local rhIFNα1b injection plus acupuncture was set as treatment group, rhIFNα1b injection and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser were set as control groups. A total of 2415 patients were included in the study. The cure rates were 81.85%, 85.93%, and 100% in combined group, rhIFNα1b group, and CO2 laser group, separately. All lesions cured in combined group were located on hands or feet, while majority of lesions cured in other groups were located on other sites. For patients with medium/big single lesion or 6-9 lesions, less treatment times were needed in combined group than rhIFNα1b group. For patients with small single, two to five or more than ten lesions, the treatment times of combined group and rhIFNα1b group were comparable. All patients complained of pain in varying degrees when local injection or laser irradiation. Compared with CO2 laser group, more fever, less swelling or scar was reported in combined group. In conclusion, combined therapy of local rhIFNα1b plus acupuncture was beneficial for verruca vulgaris with limited adverse effects. The therapy was more acceptable by younger female patients with verruca vulgaris.

Treatment of vitiligo with NB-UVB: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect and safety of NB-UVB for vitiligo using an evidence-based approach. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of vitiligo with NB-UVB were identified by searching PubMed and the Cochrane Library. The primary outcome was re-pigmentation degree. RESULTS: A total of seven RCTs involving 232 participants with vitiligo were included in this systematic review. The methodological qualities of included studies were generally moderate. Two trials compared narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) with UVA control, showing no significant differences between two methods on the number of patients who achieved >60% re-pigmentation [relative risk (RR) = 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11-56.97, p > 0.05]. Two trials compared NB-UVB with psoralens plus UVA (PUVA) control, and no difference was seen between the two treatments on the number of patients who achieved >50 re-pigmentation (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.64-2.11, p > 0.05) or >75% re-pigmentation (RR = 2.00, 95% CI: 0.89-4.48, p > 0.05). Three trials compared NB-UVB with 308-nm excimer light/laser (EL) control, and again no significant difference was found between the two methods (p > 0.05). The adverse events of NB-UVB in the included studies were slight and tolerated. CONCLUSION: NB-UVB showed equivalent efficacies to UVA, PUVA or 308-nm EL control in the treatment of vitiligo. Side effects of NB-UVB were acceptable. More RCTs were needed to validate the results.

Treatment of 308-nm excimer laser on vitiligo: A systemic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is an acquired cutaneous hypopigmentary disorder, which characterized by solitary or multiple depigmented maculae or patches. The 308-nm excimer laser has been used as phototherapy on vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 308-nm excimer laser on vitiligo. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials were searched to conduct a systematic review. The keywords were identified as laser/excimer laser/quasimolecule/XeCl" and "vitiligo". RESULTS: Seven studies with 390 vitiligo patients were included. No significant differences were seen between 308-nm excimer laser and 308-nm excimer lamp on either ≥75% or ≥50% re-pigmentation rate, or between 308-nm excimer laser and narrowband-ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) on either 100% or ≥75% re-pigmentation rate. More patients or lesions achieved ≥50% re-pigmentation rate by 308-nm excimer laser treatment than by NB-UVB treatment. The side effects of 308-nm excimer laser were slight and tolerable. CONCLUSIONS: The 308-nm excimer laser showed equivalent efficacies to 308-nm excimer lamp control and NB-UVB control concerning ≥75% re-pigmentation rate of vitiligo patches. More studies with high methodological quality, low risk of bias and more sample size are needed to confirm the conclusion.

Clearance of genital warts in pregnant women by mild local hyperthermia: a pilot report.

Genital warts acquired during pregnancy tend to grow fast, and management is challenging. We treated two cases of primipara with extensive genital warts by local hyperthermia at 44°C for 30 minutes a day for 3 consecutive days plus 2 additional days 1 week later, then once a week till there showed signs of clinical regression. The warty lesions in the patients resolved in 5 and 7 weeks, respectively. There was no sign of recurrence during a 6-month follow-up. This suggests that local hyperthermia seems to be a promising method for treating genital warts in pregnant women.