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Pulsed dye laser recommended for plaque psoriasis, acne treatment
Evidence exists to support the efficacy and safety of pulsed dye lasers for treating localized plaque psoriasis and acne vulgaris, according to recent study results.
In order to propose a recommendation on pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment for inflammatory skin disease, researchers in the Netherlands searched PubMed for publications dated January 1992 to August 2011. They identified 2,215 articles regarding PDL treatment for an inflammatory skin disease and determined a level of evidence.
The study included 52 articles. PDL-treated inflammatory skin diseases included psoriasis (n=13 articles), acne vulgaris (n=9), lupus erthymatosus (including systemic, chronic discoid and subacute cutaneous; n=8), granuloma faciale (n=7), sarcoidosis (n=5), chronic eczema (n=1), lichen sclerosis (n=3), granuloma annulare (n=2), Jessner lymphocytic infiltration of the skin (n=1), reticular erythematosus mucinosis (n=1) and papulopustular rosacea (n=2). PDL treatment for plaque-type psoriasis; localized, chronic stable plaque psoriasis; and localized recalcitrant plaque psoriasis appeared in 11 articles.
Treatment efficacy was described, and grades of A to D were considered for each treatment. Grades ranged from B for treatment of plaque psoriasis and acne vulgaris to D for treating nail psoriasis, subacute cutaneous lupus erthematodes, lupus tumidus and cutaneous sarcoidosis.
The review was limited because most conclusions were not based on randomized controlled trials, the researchers reported.
“PDL treatment for inflammatory skin diseases was shown to be effective for localized psoriasis and acne vulgaris and can be recommended if conventional therapies have failed, are contraindicated, or both,” the researchers concluded. “For other inflammatory skin [diseases] it can be considered as an alternative or supplementary treatment. Long-term studies in large groups of patients are clearly needed.”