Objective: To examine whether the ease of disease provocation by UV-A and/or UV-B radiation correlates with clinical features of polymorphic light eruption (PLE), including those indicative of disease severity.
Design: Intervention study.
Patients: One hundred forty-three patients with PLE.
Interventions: Provocation testing with broadband UV-A and UV-B lamps. Additionally, a range of clinical characteristics of the disorder, including a 5-item PLE severity score, was assessed by questionnaire.
Main outcome measures: Percentage of PLE rash induction by UV-A and UV-B provocation, differences between the skin types, and correlation between the results of provocation and a range of clinical characteristics of the disorder, including a 5-item PLE severity score.
Results: Rash provocation was seen in 78.3% of patients after UV-A and in 46.7% after UV-B exposure. Neither UV-A nor UV-B provocation showed a significant association with the total 5-item severity score. The UV-B reactivity was associated with a high score on the severity item "number of months affected per year" (P = .04), whereas UV-A responsiveness showed a tendency for association with facial involvement (P = .06).
Conclusion: The objective assessment of UV-A or UV-B susceptibility in this large group of patients showed no significant relationship with clinical disease severity.