Anthralin cream as short contact therapy for psoriasis.

Anthralin is effective in the management of psoriasis. Because of frequent skin irritation, staining of skin and clothing, and patients' difficulty in using stiff paste and ointment preparations in traditional regimens, newer treatment protocols are being evaluated. We report a four-week study of twenty patients using an anthralin cream for thirty-minute short-contact therapy. Both 0.5 percent and 1.0 percent anthralin concentrations were evaluated. We found that short contact therapy with the anthralin cream preparations was effective. In four weeks it resulted in the clearing of treated areas in more than one-third of the patients, and significant improvement in an additional 35 percent. Little difference in efficacy was noted between the 0.5 percent and 1.0 percent concentrations. Most patients found the treatment regimen cosmetically acceptable and experienced minimal problems with staining and skin irritation.