Comparison of topical 0.03% tacrolimus with 0.05% clobetasol in treatment of vitiligo

Objective tocompare the efficacy and safety of topical tacrolimus ointment with topical clobetasol ointment in vitiligo patients. methodsthis quasi-experimental study was carried out in outpatient,department of dermatology unit-ii,kmeu/ mayo hospital,lahore. sixty patients above 12 years were selected by nonprobability purposive sampling method and were divided into two equal groups. patients having lesions of less than 2 years of duration were included. after obtaining an informed consent,patients in group i were treated with twice daily application of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment and group ii with clobetasol ointment for a period of six months. if no response was obtained,treatment was stopped after three months. resultsrepigmentation was seen in 15 (50%) patients in tacrolimus group and 27 (90.0%) in clobetasol group. contact dermatitis was noted in one patient in each group and acneiform eruption was recorded in one patient in the clobetasol group. conclusiontopically,clobetasol remains to be an effective therapy in vitiligo. topical tacrolimus was not effective in our patients. intermittent use of clobetasol is as safe as continuous use of tacrolimus.