ABSTRACT
Treatment modalities with antipsoriatic activity can be broadly divided into three groups: topical, UV radiation, and systemic. This sequence also roughly defines their risk/benefit ratios: topical agents are usually the safest and of benefit only in limited disease, while systemic agents carry the greatest potential risk and should be used only in extensive disease. During the initial consultation with a new patient, each of these treatment options should be explained and an evaluation given as to their application and limitations in the particular case. The patient’s confidence in his or her physician will be somewhat dampened if he or she reads the next day in the New York Times about some new treatment that is the latest and greatest therapy for psoriasis and it was not even mentioned.
