Comparative efficacy of once a day diflorasone diacetate and twice a day betamethasone valerate ointment applications in eczematous dermatitis.

The efficacy of once a day applications of 0.05% diflorasone diacetate ointment and twice a day applications of 0.1% betamethasone valerate ointment was compared in 70 patients with eczematous dermatitis. Altogether 32 patients completed the 3-week study. Fourteen patients in the diflorasone group and 6 on betamethasone left the study earlier because of total (100%) improvement of lesions. Eight patients left because of unsatisfactory progress and 6 because of personal reasons. There were only two noticeable differences observed between treatment groups. At Week 2, the diflorasone diacetate group improved significantly more than the betamethasone valerate group with respect to pruritus. At Week 3, this difference in the improvement of pruritus was marginally significant in favour of diflorasone diacetate. Excluding the complications due to a secondary infection, no adverse reactions were recorded in the diflorasone diacetate-treated patients; 1 betamethasone valerate-treated patient developed telangiectasia. The once a day applications of diflorasone diacetate not only proved to be slightly more efficacious than the twice a day applications of betamethasone valerate, but also provided the advantages of patient convenience and compliance.