Pulsed dye laser doesn't significantly improve acne

(HealthDay)—For patients with acne, pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment does not improve acne severity grading or acne erythema grading but is associated with patient satisfaction, according to a study published recently in the International Journal of Dermatology.

Ramrada Lekwuttikarn, M.D., from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and colleagues examined the efficacy of and patients' satisfaction with 595-nm PDL treatment of acne vulgaris and acne erythema in adolescents and young adults. They performed a block-randomized, split-faced study in 30 patients with mild to moderate acne and compared the laser-treated and nontreated sides.

The researchers found that there was no significant between-group difference in the results, except for the papule count at week 4, which was −1.828 and 0.103 on the treated and nontreated sides, respectively. There was no significant between-group difference in terms of acne severity grading and acne erythema grading. On the laser-treated side, the mean scores of patients' satisfaction were 75, 81, and 81 percent, respectively, at the second, fourth, and eighth weeks.

"The PDL treatment in this study reveals no significant improvement in acne therapy; however, the patients were satisfied with this laser treatment," the authors write.