A randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial comparing fluticasone propionate cream, 0.05%, and hydrocortisone-17-butyrate cream, 0.1%, applied twice daily for 4 weeks in the treatment of psoriasis.

The efficacy, safety, and tolerability of twice-daily fluticasone propionate (Cutivate) cream, 0.05%, and hydrocortisone-17-butyrate cream, 0.1%, were compared in 125 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in a 4-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, active-control study. Clinical assessments of response to therapy, made at weekly intervals, included physicians' gross assessment of clinical response, improvement in signs and symptoms, and patients' assessment of treatment effects. Based on physicians' gross assessment, fluticasone propionate cream was superior to hydrocortisone-17-butyrate cream at day 22 (after 3 weeks' treatment) and at the end-of-treatment visit (P < .05). Cleared, excellent, or good end-of-treatment response rates were 50/63 (79%) for fluticasone propionate compared with 41/60 (68%) for hydrocortisone-17-butyrate. Adverse events were limited to mild-to-moderate pruritus with fluticasone propionate (3.2%) and hydrocortisone-17-butyrate (1.7%) and mild skin warmth with hydrocortisone-17-butyrate (1.7%).