A Comparative study between the efficacy of combined Intense Pulsed Light plus high-intensity focussed ultrasound in the treatment of atrophic and icepick scars.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the efficiency of high-intensity focussed ultrasound with intense pulsed light in the treatment of atrophic and icepick acne scars.

METHODS

The interventional study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022 at the Postgraduate Medical Physics Laboratory, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq, and comprised patients with atrophic scars in group A and acne scars in group B. They were treated first with intense pulsed light and then with high-intensity focussed ultrasound. All patients received 4 treatment sessions spread over 4 weeks. Outcome assessment was done using Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale. Data was analysed using SPSS software version 24.

RESULTS

Of the 22 patients, 12(55%) were males with mean age 20.75±4.20 years, and 10(45%) were females with mean age 21±2.05 years. The combination technique showed significant outcomes compared to baseline (p<0.05). Atrophic scars exhibited significantly greater improvement compared to icepick scars (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the overall opinion of the observer (p=0.3549) and the patients (p=0.0956).

CONCLUSIONS

The high-intensity focussed ultrasound and intense pulsed light techniques used in combination was found to be effective in treating atrophic and icepick scars.