title: Photodynamic therapy of port-wine stains.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to observe the improvements of port-wine stains (PWSs) under photodynamic therapy (PDT) and to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of PDT in the dermatology clinic for the treatment of PWSs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total of 75 PWS patients were treated with PDT. The PWS lesions were exposed to the copper vapor laser after intravenous injection of photosensitizer (Photocarcinorin, PsD-007). The lesions were photographed before each session and the therapeutic effects were evaluated by physicians based on the improvements in color, thickness and area of the photographed lesions. A follow-up visit was carried out after 2 months. The improvement rates were classified into 5 grades for quantitation of the therapeutic effects. A decision of termination or continuation of the treatment was then made according to lesion changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with PWSs responded remarkably to PDT. The complete clinical remission rate was 57.33% and the effective rate was up to 94.67% in no more than four courses of treatment. Among the completely responded patients, 20.93% were treated with no more than two courses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PDT is safe and highly effective for the treatment of PWSs in the dermatology clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. xll515@163.com
authors.forename: Yuan-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jin-Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ya-Dong
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hong-Zhen
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004954:Esthetics; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006415:Hematoporphyrins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010781:Photography; D019339:Port-Wine Stain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006415:Hematoporphyrins; C052552:photocarcinorin