Question: Is there any evidence of effectiveness of tacrolimus in the treatment of lichen sclerosus?
Help us improve clinical query answers - just fill in a survey after reading this page
Please note: the search for this response was carried out over 1 year ago. Eligible users may request an update of the evidence by submitting a new Clinical Query here.
Answer: Goldstein et al have recently reviewed topical calcineurin inhibitors for the treatment of vulvar dermatoses. They report:
“The data from three case reports, two pilot studies and one multi-centre, phase II, open-label trial suggest that tacrolimus ointment 0.1% may also be effective and well tolerated in the treatment of anogenital lichen sclerosus, both in adults and in prepubertal girls.”
(Evidence level III)
Reference:
Goldstein AT. Thaci D. Luger T. Topical calcineurin inhibitors for the treatment of vulvar dermatoses. European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Biology. 146(1):22-9, 2009 Sep. Abstract
Search date: September 2009
Classification of evidence levels
Ia Evidence obtained from meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Ib Evidence obtained from at least one randomised controlled trial.
IIa Evidence obtained from at least one well-designed controlled study without randomisation.
IIb Evidence obtained from at least one other type of well-designed quasi-experimental study.
III Evidence obtained from well-designed non-experimental descriptive studies, such as comparative studies, correlation studies and case studies.
IV Evidence obtained from expert committee reports or opinions and/or clinical experience of respected authorities.
This clinical query answer was produced following the clinical query protocol as described here.
The RCOG will not be liable for any special or consequential damages arising from the use or reliance on information contained within the Query Bank.
