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Title: Pulsed Dye Laser Resulted in No Apparent Improvements in Acne Vulgaris

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JAMA 2004;291:2834-2839
06/17/2004 09:54:00 AM
By Joene Hendry

Pulsed dye laser therapy did not result in any significant improvement in acne vulgaris among patients participating in single-design, split-face, controlled clinical trial. "When comparing patients randomised to receive either 1 or 2 laser treatment sessions, no statistically significant differences in efficacy at any time point or for any subtype of acne lesion were demonstrated," writes Jeffrey S. Orringer, MD, Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, United States, and colleagues. The investigators randomly assigned 40 patients, aged from 13 to 31 years old, with facial acne that scored 2 or greater on the Leeds acne severity scale, to undergo either 1 or 2 nonpurpuric pulsed dye laser treatments (fluence of 3 J/cm[²) to half of the face, while the other half of their face served as a control. A panel of dermatologists blinded to the treatment assignment assessed the changes in lesion counts from baseline to 12 weeks through standardised bilateral serial photographs. In analyses using last observation carried forward, which included 38 patients, baseline Leeds summary scores were a mean of 3.98 and 3.83 for the treated and untreated sides of the patients' faces. By week 12 the mean summary scores had changed by -0.04 for both treated and untreated sides. Analyses restricted to the 26 patients completing the study revealed similar results. Over the 12-week follow-up period some patients experienced a decrease in acne severity while some experienced a worsening of acne severity, but in all cases these changes were bilateral and therefore not likely associated with laser therapy. Overall 18% of the patients reported discomfort during the laser therapy and required minor reductions in the fluences delivered, indicating that laser therapy was generally well tolerated. "Additional well-designed studies are needed before the use of the pulsed dye laser becomes a part of acne therapy," the authors conclude.

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