Comparative efficacy of short-pulsed intense pulsed light and pulsed dye laser to treat rosacea.

Background

Laser and light-based therapies have often been used successfully to treat rosacea. Recently, short-pulsed intense pulsed light (IPL) that emitted pulse durations down to 0.5 ms was found to be effective for rosacea treatment.

Objective

This study evaluated the efficacy of short-pulsed IPL in the treatment of rosacea compared with pulsed dye laser (PDL) using same pulse duration and fluence. Materials and

Methods

Nine patients with rosacea were enrolled in a randomized, split-face trial. Each treatment consisted of four sessions at three-week intervals and followed up until three weeks after the last treatment. Efficacy was assessed by erythema, melanin index, physician's subjective evaluation, and patient's satisfaction.

Results

The mean change in erythema index was -4.93 ± 1.59 for the short-pulsed IPL group and -4.27 ± 1.23 for the PDL group. The mean change in melanin index was -2.52 ± 2.45 for the short-pulsed IPL group and -1.95 ± 1.41 for the PDL group. There was no significant difference in either melanin or erythema index between short-pulsed IPL and PDL treatments, and there were no noticeable adverse events.

Conclusions

There was no significant difference between PDL and short-pulsed IPL treatment using the same energies and pulse. Both PDL and short-pulsed IPL were satisfactory and safe for rosacea treatment.