Segmental vitiligo: A randomized controlled trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment vs 0.05% fluticasone propionate cream

Background: Segmental vitiligo is a small subset of vitiligo which responds very well to surgical therapy, but the role of medical treatment is not very well defined.
Aim: To compare the efficacy and safety of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment versus 0.05% fluticasone propionate cream in patients of segmental vitiligo.
Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted in a tertiary care hospital on 60 consecutive patients with segmental vitiligo. Patients with segmental vitiligo exclusively or along with focal vitiligo, untreated or had not taken any topical treatment in previous 1 month or systemic treatment in previous 2 months, from May 2005 to January 2007, were block randomized into two groups. Children <5 years, pregnant and lactating women, and patients with known hypersensitivity to either drug and with associated multiple lesions of vitiligo were excluded. Group A (n = 29) patients were treated with tacrolimus 0.1% ointment twice daily and group B (n = 31) patients were treated with 0.05% of fluticasone cream once daily for 6 months. Response and side effects were recorded clinically and by photographic comparison.
Results: Nineteen patients treated with tacrolimus and 21 patients treated with fluticasone completed the treatment with median repigmentation of 15% and 5%, respectively, at 6 months (P = 0.38). Transient side effects limited to the application site were observed.
Conclusions: Both tacrolimus and fluticasone propionate produce variable but overall unsatisfactory repigmentation in segmental vitiligo.