Survey on the use of a two-compound ointment containing calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate for treating patients with psoriasis at our hospital

Abstract

We retrospectively surveyed the use of a two-compound ointment containing calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate at our hospital during the 18-month period from October- 2014 to April- 2016. The subjects were 125 patients with psoriasis (96 men, 29 women), ranging in age from 21 to 90 years (average age, 57.8 years). The psoriasis types were psoriasis vulgaris in 114 patients (91%), psoriasis arthropathica in 8 ( 6 %), guttate psoriasis in 2 ( 2 %), and psoriatic erythroderma in 1 patient ( 1 %). The combination therapies were biological treatments in 7 patients ( 6 %), narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) in 14 (11%), combination therapy with narrow-band UVB and etretinate in 7 ( 5 %), cyclosporine in 10 ( 8 %), and external preparations alone in 85 patients (68%). Overall, 100 patients (80%) with psoriasis continued the treatment with the two-compound ointment. Twenty-five patients (20%) discontinued the two-compound ointment and restarted their prior external preparations. The reason for the discontinuation of the two-compound ointment was that the prior external preparations, which were mostly ointments comprising mixtures of corticosteroids and vitamin D 3 analogues, had been more effective.