Short-contact therapy for psoriasis with 3.9% butantrone (10-butyryl dithranol).

Previous studies have shown that when butantrone and dithranol were used in equimolar gradually increasing concentrations in short-contact therapy for psoriasis the efficacy of butantrone was somewhat lower compared to dithranol. To see whether the efficacy of butantrone in short-contact therapy could be increased by starting with a single high-concentration directly, 20 psoriatic patients were treated with dithranol (0.1,-0.5,-1.0,-2.0%) and butantrone (3.9%) short-contact therapy as a right-left comparison. With these treatment modalities the antipsoriatic effects of dithranol and butantrone were similar. Although the efficacy of 3.9% butantrone was better than the previously used butantrone therapy with gradually increasing doses, there was a parallel increase in side-effects. In general, the side-effects (erythema and staining) remained weaker on the butantrone-treated side than on the dithranol-treated side. No systemic adverse-effects were observed in any of the treated patients.