Effects of repetitive photodynamic therapy using indocyanine green for acne vulgaris.

BACKGROUND

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a photosensitizer recently introduced for the treatment of acne.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using ICG in subjects with acne vulgaris and to evaluate whether there was a difference in the efficacy of ICG-PDT between different numbers of treatment.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Subjects with acne on the face were included. ICG lotion (0.1%) was applied for 30 minutes, and a long pulse diode laser was used. Three or five treatments per subject were performed over 2 weeks. Acne lesion counts and Leeds revised acne grades were evaluated at baseline and 2 weeks after the last treatment.

RESULTS

In total, 47 subjects completed the study. After both three and five ICG-PDT sessions, a significant reduction in acne lesions and significant improvement in Leeds revised acne grades were found in all treated subjects compared to baseline. In the subjects receiving five ICG-PDT sessions, the reduction of papules/pustules was greater than in the subjects receiving three ICG-PDT sessions (P < 0.01, respectively). However, there was no significant change in the count of nodules/cysts, although it is a negative trend (P = 0.066). Adverse effects were minimal.

CONCLUSION

ICG-PDT using long-pulsed diode laser can be a safe and effective tool for acne vulgaris. Moreover, repetitive treatments of five can cause further improvement of inflammatory acne lesions.