HealthCert Blog

A recent study published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment sought to assess the efficacy and safety of combining a potent corticosteroid with a retinoid in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus.

Researchers retrospectively compared 21 patients treated with mometasone furoate and tretinoin in short-contact therapy (Group A), and 20 patients treated with cold cream and mometasone furoate (Group B) for five consecutive days per week for 12 weeks.

Thirteen patients (75.2 percent) were considered as responders in Group A. Half of these achieved an improvement of at least 75 percent in subjective scores, and 61.1 percent achieved an improvement of at least 75 percent in objective scores.

In Group B, 15 patients (78.9 percent) were considered as responders. All of them achieved an improvement of at least 75 percent in subjective scores, and 63.1 percent achieved an improvement of at least 75 percent in objective scores.

The combination of cold cream with mometasone furoate was better tolerated than the combination of mometasone furoate and tretinoin.

The study concluded that the combination of a topical retinoid did not enhance the effectiveness of a potent corticosteroid in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus.

Read more about the management of other dermatological conditions.

Source:
Borghi, A. et al. (08 January 2017.) Combined therapy in vulvar lichen sclerosus: does topical tretinoin improve the efficacy of mometasone furoate? Journal of Dermatological Treatment. Volume 28, 2017 – Issue 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546634.2016.1277178.

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