Clinical effects of 5-aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy in moderate to severe acne vulgaris / 中华医学美学美容杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)-based photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris.Methods From January to June 2013,a total of 43 patients with moderate to severe acne vulgaris were treated by 5 aminolaevulinic acid based PDT with red light.All patients were received three times of treatment at 2-week intervals.Clinical assessment was conducted before and at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks after treatment.Results The lesion counts of both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions were reduced significantly after treatment.The mean percentage reduction in inflammatory lesions was 88.9 ％ at 8 weeks after the treatment,meanwhile that in non-inflammatory lesions was 73.4％.After 8 weeks of treatment,55.8％ patients (24/43)showed clinical cure,and 41.9％ patients (18/43)showed excellent response and 2.3％ patient (1/43) showed good response.Only 4.7％ patients (2/43)showed signs of recurrence after 4 months after ALA-PDT.After one course of ALA-PDT,the symptoms in this recurrent case were significant improvement.The common adverse effects included pain,edema and transient hyperpigmentation.They could gradually disappear without a need of special intervention.Conclusions ALA-PDT is a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris.