Background: Phototherapy is the use of specific wavelenghts of light that have shown
effectiveness in the treatment of several cutaneous diseases. Current indications for
phototherapy in Dermatology include multiple pathologies and it is considered to be cost-
effective. Literature about its use in children is rare, there are no studies on phototherapy in
Chilean children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Observational, descriptive, retrospective study.
Clinical records of pediatric patients treated with phototherapy at University of Chile Clinical
Hospital between 2007 and 2015, were studied. For each patient, the following parameters were
analyzed: age of starting treatment, sex, skin phenotype, diagnosis, prescribed phototherapy
and weekly frecuency. RESULTS: 146 patients, 85 girls and 51 boys, average age 11.7 ±
4.0 years. Predominant skin phenotype, was Fitzpatrick type III. Vitiligo was identified as the
most common indication for phototherapy (52,2 %), followed by psoriasis (22,6 %). By a large
margin, the most used type of phototherapy was nb UVB (96.6 %). Most of the patients were
treated twice per week (69.2 %). DISCUSSION: The obtained results in this group are similar to
those results described in the international literature. Further studies are required for a better
knowledge about efficacy and possible long-term effects of phototherapy on Chilean children.
Esteffan C., J. ., Gálvez R., K. ., de la Fuente E., R. ., Araya B. , I. ., & Zemelman D., V. . (2016). Caracterización de pacientes pediátricos usuarios de fototerapia en el Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile (2007-2015). Revista Hospital Clínico Universidad De Chile, 27(3), pp. 192–7. https://doi.org/10.5354/2735-7996.2016.70885
