Is it better to reduce the intervals between pulsed dye laser treatments for port wine stains in children? Laser Doppler Imaging based study
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In brief
In brief
Prospective study evaluating whether monthly pulsed dye laser treatments improve port wine stain outcomes in children compared to longer intervals. Laser Doppler imaging confirmed 26.7% blanching efficacy, but reducing treatment intervals from standard protocol did not significantly improve therapeutic results.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Background
Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL) is the treatment of choice of Port Wine Stains (PWS). Laser Doppler Imaging (LDI) has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment. In a previous study, we demonstrated that LDI allows an objective evaluation. The purpose of this study is to investigate if reducing the delay between two laser sessions could improve the clinical outcome.
Method
This prospective study was conducted from September 2015 to November 2017. Three Laser sessions were performed every month in twenty patients with PWS. The PWS response was assessed by LDI after each session and at the end of the third one. The present study was compared to the first one.
Results
The LDI confirmed the efficacy of PDL treatment with an average blanching rate of 26.7 %. The response is statistically significant after each session. When we compare both studies, there is an average decrease in vascularization of 0.42 for the first study and 0.50 for the present one.
Conclusion
This study allows us to validate the use of LDI for the numerical evaluation of PDL effect on PWS in children. However, we cannot confirm that reducing the interval between laser sessions could improve therapeutic outcomes.
Levels of Evidence
Treatment Study
Level II (Prospective Comparative Study)