A double-blind comparison of 1% hydrocortisone plus 10% urea ('Alphaderm') and 0.1% betamethasone 17-valerate in the treatment of non-infective inflammatory dermatoses.

A double-blind controlled trial was carried out over a period of 3 weeks to assess the effectiveness of 1% hydrocortisone, in a specialized carbamide drug delivery system, compared with 0.1% betamethasone 17-valerate cream in the treatment of 21 patients with bilateral, symmetrical, non-infective inflammatory dermatoses. The trial preparations were applied topically twice daily, each to one side only during the trial. Although overall patient preference tended to favour betamethasone 17-valerate, the physician's assessment of clinical improvement, based on severity rating scores, indicated that both preparations were equally effective and there were no significant differences between the calculated mean percentage clinical improvements at the end of each week.