title: Intense pulsed light versus photodynamic therapy using liposomal methylene blue gel for the treatment of truncal acne vulgaris: a comparative randomized split body study.
abstract: Acne vulgaris is an extremely common skin condition. It often leads to negative psychological consequences. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using intense pulsed light has been introduced for effective treatment of acne. The objective was to study the effect of PDT in truncal acne vulgaris using liposomal methylene blue (LMB) versus IPL alone. Thirty-five patients with varying degrees of acne were treated with topical 0.1 % LMB hydrogel applied on the randomly selected one side of the back, and after 60 min the entire back was exposed to IPL. The procedure was done once weekly for three sessions and patients were re-evaluated 1 month after the third session by two independent dermatologists. Acne severity was graded using the Burton scale. Patient satisfaction using Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was recorded before and after treatment. On LMB-pretreated side, inflammatory acne lesion counts were significantly decreased by 56.40 % compared with 34.06 % on IPL alone. Marked improvement was seen on LMB-pretreated side in 11.5 % of patients compared with 2.8 % on IPL alone. There was a correlation between CADI score and overall improvement. Our study concluded that LMB-IPL is more effective than IPL alone, safe with tolerable pain in the treatment of acne vulgaris on the back. LMB-IPL is more effective than IPL alone, safe with tolerable pain in the treatment of acne vulgaris on the back.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nayera Hassan
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Moftah
authors.affiliation: Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Drshadyaly@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shady Mahmoud
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7616-267X
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Cairo Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology (Al-Haud Al-Marsoud), Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nadine Hassan
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Wahba
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes / Q000187:drug effects*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D008751:Methylene Blue
keywords: Acne vulgaris; IPL; PDT