Phototherapy in dermatology: care, concerns and best practice amidst COVID-19 pandemic

Phototherapy is an essential and useful therapeutic procedurewherein the properties of ultraviolet light are used to cure certaindermatological conditions like psoriasis, vitiligo, and atopicdermatitis. this is usually an office-based procedure dependenton the accurate use of sophisticated phototherapy units. since theadvent of the covid-19 pandemic, phototherapy practices wereshut down as they were considered as non-essential services.here, we attempt to analyze how covid-19 has affectedphototherapy and seek to formulate a working guideline forsafe phototherapy operations in these taxing circumstances. weused search engines like pubmed, google scholar, and embaseto retrieve articles and guidelines regarding phototherapy indermatology, using the pertinent search terms. there was a paucityof data with only a couple of research letters and guidelinesby the british association of dermatology and the americanacademy of dermatology, as well as general guidelines issuedby the indian association of dermatologists, venereologists andleprologists.after a careful study of various modalities of phototherapyand viral inactivation, we collated a set of guiding instructionstoward the appropriate utilization of phototherapy amidst thecovid-19 pandemic.phototherapy is a viable option for selected patients even amidstthe covid-19 pandemic. however, local and national guidelineshave to be followed while selecting the patient and operatingthe phototherapy machine with adequate protective measures forboth the patient and the healthcare worker. home phototherapyunits and puvasol are good options for those patients who areunable to attend the phototherapy center due to various reasons.