International Journal of Morphology | 2019
Effectiveness of Short-Term Physical Agents Treatment on Macroscopic Morphology in Patients with Plaque Psoriasis
Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that presents skin rashes which can arise through plaques. The aim of this work was to compare the effectiveness of short-term physical agents treatment on macroscopic morphology (area and erythema ) in patients with plaque psoriasis. This prospective randomized experimental study included fourteen subjects, medically diagnosed with psoriasis, with more than one plaque in the skin and voluntarily without topical treatment. All subjects completed the study th at consisted of 12 treatment sessions divided in control (C), artificial balneotherapy (AB), phototherapy (PT) or balneophotothera py (BPT) groups. After session 12, there was a significant reduction of the plaque area by all treatments when compared to C group and BPT was t he most effective one. However, only AB and PT presented a reduction of erythema. Regarding severity, 9 patients changed to a lower cat egory on the PASI test, and 5 of them maintained a mild psoriasis, but lowered their score. Finally, 13 of 14 subjects improved their qualit y of life. The physical agents used reduced the severity of psoriasis and improved quality of life of patients after 12 sessions of treatment du ing a onemonth period. The BPT was the more effective in controlling psoriasis by diminishing its area and PT by att enuating the erythema.