Abstract
A new fluorinated steroid, betamethasone dipropionate, has been used in ten studies in 413 patients (118 psoriasis; 295 other steroid responsive dermatoses). After three-weeks treatment with 0·05% betamethasone dipropionate cream, 87·90% of patients (363) showed a complete remission or were much better, while 11·38% (47) were slightly better. A total of 116 (98·31%) of patients with psoriasis and a total of 263 (89·16%) patients with other steroid responsive dermatoses were in complete remission or slightly better. An interesting feature is the rapidity of onset of action which occurred in 53% of the patients by the second day, and by the third day 91-100% of the patients had shown some improvement. Side-effects were minor and negligible (1·6%). These results indicate that betamethasone dipropionate is an effective and safe topical steroid for dermatological use.
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