In contrast, PUVA therapy has not been approved for use in children by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The treatment regimen for PUVA therapy is divided into a clearance phase and a maintenance phase. The clearance phase consists of two treatment protocols in which continual treatment is given until clearing of the psoriasis occurs. First, psoralen dosage is based on the patients body weight. All together, the patients are treated 2-3 times a week for approximately 13 weeks.
European protocols differ from the ones above and are much more aggressive.
The number of treatments during maintenance is thought to be directly related to the total body surface area that was initially effected by the disease. The goal of maintenance therapy is to keep the patient as asymptomatic as possible with as little UVA exposure as possible. The maintenance schedule is usually cohered to for at least two treatments and if there is no worsening at this time, therapy can then be discontinued. Patient response to PUVA treatment is generally beneficial. On an average, maintenance therapy usually consists of 30 treatments per year for the initial one and one-half years.