Objective: To compare topically applied mesalazine (5-aminosalicylic acid) to topically applied clobetasol propionate in the treatment of patients suffering from symptomatic oral lichen planus.
Design: Randomized controlled longitudinal investigation.
Patients and methods: Twenty-five out-patients suffering from oral lichen planus and referred to the Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine of the University of Milan, Italy, during the period January to August 1997. Patients were randomly allocated (Group A and Group B) to treatment with mesalazine 5% or clobetasol propionate 0.05%. The drugs were topically applied twice daily for 4 weeks. Discomfort and pain were evaluated by the patient before and after treatment using a Visual Analogue Scale from zero (no pain) to 10 (extreme pain). Results were statistically evaluated by a Mann-Whitney U test.
Results: The two pharmacological regimens obtained partial and complete absence of symptoms. In particular, the mesalazine tested group disclosed 57% complete absence of symptoms, 21.3% partial response and 9% no response. No statistically relevant difference has been detected between the two regimens.
Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study, if confirmed by further investigations, suggest that mesalazine might be considered an alternative to clobetasol propionate for treatment of symptomatic oral lichen planus.