Table 1. Characteristics of the Included Studies.
| Source | Country | Study Design | Level of Evidencea | Subtype, Body Surface Area | Treatment Duration | Fitzpatrick Skin Type | Intervention | No. of Patients | Age, Mean (Range), y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| al-Aboosi and Ajam, 1995 | Iraq | Nonblind single-arm | IV | Generalized vitiligo, ND | 6-18 mo | III, IV | PUVA | 29 | 23.0 (14-32) |
| Westerhof and Nieuweboer-Krobotova, 1997 | The Netherlands | Nonblind parallel trial | IIA | Active, extensive, and generalized vitiligo, ND | 3-12 mo | II, III, IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: Topical PUVA |
1: 51 2: ND |
1: 36.0 (7-70) 2: 36.7 (8-63) |
| Njoo et al, 2000 | The Netherlands | Single-arm open trial | IV | Generalized vitiligo, ≥5% | 12 mo | II, III, IV, V | NBUVB | 51 | 9.9 (4-16) |
| Cestari et al, 2001 | Brazil | Double-blind parallel RCT | IB | Vitiligo, <2% | 3 mo | II, III, IV, V | 1: Topical PUVA (4-dimethoxyamoidina, 2%) 2: Topical PUVA (8-MOP) |
1: 14 2: 13 |
1: 23.9 (ND) 2: 15.2 (ND) |
| Ermis et al, 2001 | Turkey | Double-blind within-patient RCT | IB | Generalized vitiligo, ≥5% | 3 mo | II, III, IV | 1: PUVA 2: PUVA + topical calcipotriol, 0.005% |
1: 35 2: 35 |
29.8 (16-64) |
| Al Rubaie, 2002 | United Arab Emirates | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | Generalized vitiligo, ND | 6-12 mo | IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: PUVA 3: PUVA + topical calcipotriol |
1: 13 2: 9 3: 11 |
28.6 (9-65) |
| Cherif et al, 2003 | Tunisia | Nonblind within-patient trial | III | Bilateral and symmetrical NSV, ND | 15 wk | IV, V | 1: PUVA 2: PUVA + topical calcipotriol, 0.005% |
1: 23 2: 23 |
36 (19-73) |
| Park et al, 2003 | Korea | Nonblind single-arm | IV | Vitiligo, ND | >6 mo | III, IV, V | NBUVB | 13 | 36.6 (11-66) |
| Hamzavi et al, 2004 | Canada | Nonblind within-patient RCT | IB | Vitiligo on the trunk and extremities, >5% | 6 mo | II, III, IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: No treatment |
22 | 47 (23-77) |
| Valkova et al, 2004 | Bulgaria | Nonblind within-patient trial | III | Various vitiligo, ND | 4 mo | II, III, IV | 1: PUVA 2: Topical khellin + UV-A |
17 | 26.1 (12-59) |
| Brazzelli et al, 2005 | Italy | Nonblind single-arm open trial | IV | Vitiligo in children, ND | 6 mo | II, III, IV | NBUVB | 10 | 9.7 (6-14) |
| Kanwar and Dogra, 2005 | India | Uncontrolled single-arm open trial | IV | Generalized vitiligo, ≥5% | ≤12 mo | IV, V | NBUVB | 26 | 10.6 (5-14) |
| Kanwar et al, 2005 | India | Nonblind single-arm trial | IV | Vitiligo vulgaris, ≥5% | 12 mo | IV, V | NBUVB | 15 | ND (12-56) |
| Anbar et al, 2006 | The Netherlands | Uncontrolled single-arm open trial | IV | NSV, ND | >6 mo | II, III, IV | NBUVB | 135 | 24.5 (4-65) |
| Arca et el, 2006 | Turkey | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | Stable NSV, ≥10% | 10 wk | ND | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical calcipotriol, 0.05% |
1: 24 2: 13 |
1: 22.0 (ND) 2: 21.5 (ND) |
| Goktas et al, 2006 | Turkey | Nonblind within-patient trial | IIA | Generalized symmetrical NSV, ≥20% | 6 mo | II, III | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical calcipotriol, 0.005% |
1: 28 2: 28 |
34.2 (16-53) |
| Bhatnagar et al, 2007 | India | Single-blind parallel RCT | IB | NSV, ≥5% | 12 mo | IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: PUVA |
1: 25 2: 25 |
1: 29.0 (ND) 2: 26.6 (ND) |
| Dell’Anna et al, 2007 | The Netherlands | Double-blind parallel RCT | IB | Generalized vitiligo, ≥15% | 6 mo | II, III, IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + systemic antioxidant |
1: 14 2: 21 |
39.9 (24-61) |
| Nicolaidou et al, 2007 | Greece | Single-arm open trial | IV | NSV, ≥5% | 12 mo | I, II, III, IV, V | NBUVB | 84 | 39.5 (8-68) |
| Sitek et al, 2007 | Norway | Single-arm open trial | IV | Generalized vitiligo, ND | ≤12 mo | II, III, IV, V | NBUVB | 34 | ND (ND) |
| Yones et al, 2007 | England | Double-blind parallel RCT | IB | NSV, ≥20% | I, II, III, IV, V, VI | 1: NBUVB 2: PUVA |
1: 25 2: 25 |
1: 38 (18-64) 2: 36 (18-70) |
|
| Percivalle et el, 2008 | Italy | Single-arm open trial | IV | Localized or generalized vitiligo, ND | ≤12 mo | II, III, IV, V, VI | NBUVB | 53 | 36.5 (3-74) |
| Elgoweini and Nour El Din, 2009 | Egypt | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | Stable vitiligo, ≥20% | 6 mo | II, III, IV | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + oral antioxidant |
1: 12 2: 12 |
1: ND (19-48) 2: ND (20-50) |
| Esfandiarpour et al, 2009 | Iran | Double-blind parallel RCT | IB | NSV, ND | 3 mo | ND | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical pimecrolimus, 1% |
1: 25 2: 25 |
1: 34.6 (15-72) 2: 25.9 (16-56) |
| Kishan Kumar et al, 2009 | India | Single-arm open trial | IV | Localized and generalized vitiligo, ND | ≤12 mo | IV, V | NBUVB | 150 | ND (3-70) |
| Stinco et al, 2009 | Italy | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | Stable vitiligo, ND | 6 mo | II, III, IV | 1: NBUVB 2: Topical pimecrolimus, 1% 3: Topical tacrolimus, 0.1% |
1: 13 2: 15 3: 16 |
1: 48.8 (27-72) 2: 42.9 (27-56) 3: 43.2 (30-61) |
| Yuksel et al, 2009 | Turkey | Nonblind parallel trial | IIA | Generalized NSV, ≥20% | 6 mo | ND | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical antioxidant |
1: 15 2: 15 |
1: 28 (18-67) 2: 33 (20-54) |
| Nordal et al, 2011 | Norway | Double-blind within-patient RCT | IB | Stable NSV, ND | 3 mo | II, III, IV, V, VI | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical tacrolimus, 0.1% |
46 | 44.8 (23-69) |
| Sapam et al, 2012 | Nepal | Single-blind parallel RCT | IB | Stable NSV, >5% | 6 mo | IV, V III, IV, V |
1: NBUVB 2: PUVA |
1: 28 2: 28 |
1: 31.3 (ND) 2: 29.2 (ND) |
| Bansal et al, 2013 | India | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | NSV, ≥5% | 5 mo | ND | 1: NBUVB 2: Psoralen-NBUVB |
1: 20 2: 20 |
29.9 (ND) |
| El-Mofty et al, 2013 | Egypt | Single-blind parallel RCT | IB | Bilateral and symmetrical NSV, >30% | 4 mo | III, IV | 1: NBUVB 2: Broadband UV-B |
1: 20 2: 20 |
1: 26.9 (ND) 2: 33.3 (ND) |
| Satyanarayan et al, 2013 | India | Nonblind within-patient RCT | IB | Generalized NSV, 5%-50% | 36 wk | III, IV | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical tacrolimus, 0.1% |
25 | ND (14-36) |
| Singh et al, 2013 | India | Nonblind parallel RCT | IB | NSV, ≥2% | 36 wk | III, IV, V | 1: PUVA (8-MOP) 2: PUVA sol |
1: 18 2: 17 |
1: 27.3 (16-41) 2: 31.8 (12-49) |
| Baldo et al, 2014 | Italy | Nonblind within-patient RCT | IB | Stable vitiligo, ND | 36 wk | ND | 1: NBUVB 2: Topical tacrolimus, 0.1% |
48 | 27.0 (6-67) |
| Khullar et al, 2014 | India | Nonblind within-patient RCT | IB | Slowly progressive NSV, 5%-50% | 24 wk | III, IV, V | 1: NBUVB 2: NBUVB + topical calcipotriol, 0.005% |
27 | 24.4 (12-37) |
Abbreviations: MOP, methoxypsoralen; NBUVB, narrowband UV-B; ND, not determined; NSV, nonsegmental vitiligo; PUVA, psoralen–UV-A; RCT, randomized clinical trial.
a
IB indicates randomized controlled studies; IIA, nonrandomized controlled studies; III, comparative studies, correlation studies, and case-control studies; and IV, expert committee reports or opinions and case reports.