Systematic review of the efficacies and adverse effects of treatments for pityriasis lichenoides

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Introduction Pityriasis lichenoides (PL) is a papulosquamous dermatosis affecting both children and adults for which no standard treatment currently exists. The aims of our systematic review were to characterize different treatment options and develop an evidence‐based treatment algorithm for PL. Methods A systematic search of published literature on PL treatments was performed on December 23rd, 2017 via the Medline, Embase, CINAHL, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the EU Clinical Trials Register databases. Results Of 1090 abstracts retrieved, 27 full‐text articles with 502 participants were included for analysis. 17 of the full‐text articles were retrospective cohorts and 2 were randomized control studies. Treatment modalities included in these articles were phototherapy, antibiotics, methotrexate, pyrimethamine and trisulfapyrimidine, corticosteroids (CTS) and conservative treatment. Of these treatments, phototherapy led to complete remission in the highest proportion of patients and topical CTS was found to have been trialed in the highest number of patients. Conclusions The current literature consists almost entirely of uncontrolled studies and none provide compelling data to support an evidence‐based approach to PL treatment. PLC and PLEVA should be distinguished in response to treatment and definitions of response to treatment must be standardized. Additional randomized control studies with longer follow‐ups will help better differentiate between treatment efficacies and adverse effects.

This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit: