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Susceptibility to UV-A and UV-B Provocation Does Not Correlate With Disease Severity of Polymorphic Light Eruption
Artiena Soe Janssens, MD;
Stan Pavel, MD, PhD;
Tsui Ling, MD;
Sandra Maria Winhoven, MD;
Nikoletta Anastasopoulou, PhD;
Alexander Stratigos, MD;
Christina Antoniou, MD;
Thomas Diepgen, MD, PhD;
Frank de Gruijl, PhD;
Lesley Elisabeth Rhodes, MD, PhD
Arch Dermatol. 2007;143(5):599-604.
Objective To examine whether the ease of disease provocation by UV-A and/or UV-B radiation correlates with clinical features of polymorphic light eruption (PLE), including those indicative of disease severity.
Design Intervention study.
Patients One hundred forty-three patients with PLE.
Interventions Provocation testing with broadband UV-A and UV-B lamps. Additionally, a range of clinical characteristics of the disorder, including a 5-item PLE severity score, was assessed by questionnaire.
Main Outcome Measures Percentage of PLE rash induction by UV-A and UV-B provocation, differences between the skin types, and correlation between the results of provocation and a range of clinical characteristics of the disorder, including a 5-item PLE severity score.
Results Rash provocation was seen in 78.3% of patients after UV-A and in 46.7% after UV-B exposure. Neither UV-A nor UV-B provocation showed a significant association with the total 5-item severity score. The UV-B reactivity was associated with a high score on the severity item "number of months affected per year" (P = .04), whereas UV-A responsiveness showed a tendency for association with facial involvement (P = .06).
Conclusion The objective assessment of UV-A or UV-B susceptibility in this large group of patients showed no significant relationship with clinical disease severity.
Author Affiliations: Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands (Drs Janssens, Pavel, and De Gruijl); Photobiology Unit, Dermatological Sciences, University of Manchester, Hope Hospital, Salford, England (Drs Ling, Winhoven, and Rhodes); Department of Dermatology, University of Athens, Andreas Sygros Hospital, Athens, Greece (Drs Anastasopoulou, Stratigos, and Antoniou); and Department of Social Medicine, Center of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany (Dr Diepgen).
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