A Comparative Study on Clinical Efficacy of Clobetasol and Betamethasone in Orabase in Combination With Clotrimazole in the Management of Oral Lichen Planus

TL;DR

This study compares clobetasol and betamethasone in treating oral lichen planus and finds both equally effective in reducing symptoms.

Contribution

Demonstrates comparable efficacy of clobetasol and betamethasone in managing oral lichen planus when combined with clotrimazole.

Findings

Both clobetasol and betamethasone showed similar reduction in lesion size after four weeks.

No significant difference in pain reduction between the two treatments.

Either corticosteroid can be used based on availability, cost, and patient tolerance.

Abstract

Context: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease characterized by pain and burning sensation. As etiology remains unclear, the treatment of OLP is focused mainly on reducing symptoms through modulation of local immune response.

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of Clobetasol 0.05% orabase and Betamethasone 0.05% orabase, both combined with Clotrimazole 1%, in managing symptomatic OLP.

Methodology: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 30 patients diagnosed with OLP at a tertiary dental hospital. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group A (Clobetasol + Clotrimazole) and Group B (Betamethasone + Clotrimazole). Clinical response was assessed at two and four weeks using the Global Assessment Scale for lesion size and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for burning sensation. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 17 (Released 2009; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States).

Results: At the end of four weeks, the change in mean size obtained was score 2.0±0.95 in Group A and 1.66±1.4 in Group B (p-value = 0.51), indicating that both the study drugs had a similar decrease in the global assessment of efficacy scores with no significant statistical difference. Mean change in the VAS score at the end of four weeks revealed a decrease in the mean score of 4.66±2.30 in Group A and a decrease by 4.00±1.80 score in Group B (p-value=0.44), indicating no statistical significance.

Conclusions: Both clobetasol and betamethasone demonstrated comparable efficacy in reducing pain and lesion size among patients with OLP. This finding suggests that either regimen can serve as a viable therapeutic option in the management of OLP. Considering their similar clinical outcomes, the choice between these corticosteroids may depend on factors such as drug availability, patient tolerance, cost, and physician preference.

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