Efficacy and safety of intense pulsed light in rosacea: A systematic review.

Background Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin characterised by facial erythema, oedema, telangiectasias, papules, pustules and nodules. There is a paucity of effective therapeutic modalities for the management of rosacea. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), a modality in which flash lamps installed in an optical treatment device (head or tip) with mirrors to reflect light, has in recent times gained popularity in the management of this condition. Aim This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety and adverse effects of IPL treatment for rosacea. Methods This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. The electronic databases searched were Medline, PubMed and Scopus databases. The Risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions (ROBINS-I) and risk-of-bias tools for randomised trials (RoB-2) was employed to assess the risk of bias. Results Of a total of 233 articles retrieved from Medline, Scopus and PubMed databases, 14 studies qualified for final analysis. The studies included patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I to IV, with ages ranging from 15 to 78 years. Although the included studies showed heterogeneity between the parameters used, most studies demonstrated positive effects of IPL treatment on telangiectasia and erythema in rosacea and that the adverse effects presented were transitory. Limitation The methodological quality of the included studies was poor. Conclusion Although most studies showed the efficacy of IPL in the treatment of rosacea, the poor quality of the studies was of concern.

Complicaciones y manejo de procedimientos dermatoestéticos: una actualización para el dermatólogo / Complications associated with cutaneous aesthetic procedures: an update for the dermatologist

En las últimas décadas se han desarrollado nuevas técnicas e indicaciones de los procedimientos estéticos mínimamente invasivos, presentando cada vez mejores resultados con un alto nivel de seguridad, sin embargo, estos no se encuentran exentos de complicaciones, las que pueden ser transitorias o permanentes. El conocimiento, abordaje, tratamiento y prevención de las distintas complicaciones son esenciales para los dermatólogos y cirujanos plásticos. Los procedimientos más utilizados son: administración de rellenos, peeling químicos, láser, luz pulsada intensa y ultrasonido de alta frecuencia. La siguiente revisión tiene como objetivo reconocer las principales complicaciones de estos procedimientos y su manejo.

In recent decades, new techniques and indications of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures have been developed, presenting increasingly better results with a high level of safety, however these are not exempt from complications, which may be transient or permanent. The knowledge, approach, treatment and prevention of the different complications are essential for the dermatologist and plastic surgeons. The most used procedures are the administration of fillers, chemical peels, lasers, intense pulsed light and high frequency ultrasound. The following review aims to recognize the main complications of these procedures and their management.

Comparison of the effect of diode laser versus intense pulsed light in axillary hair removal.

BACKGROUND: Devices such as diode laser and intense pulsed light (IPL) are in constant development aiming at permanent hair removal, but there are few comparative studies between these technologies. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to comparatively assess axillary hair removal performed by diode laser and IPL and to obtain parameters of referred pain and evolution response for each method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative prospective, double-blind, and randomized study of axillary hair removal performed by the diode laser and IPL was conducted in 21 females. Six sessions were held with application of the diode laser in one axilla and the IPL in the other, with intervals of 30 days and follow-up of 6 months after the last session. Clinical photographs and digital dermoscopy for hair counts in predefined and fixed fields of the treated areas were performed before, 2 weeks after the sixth session, and 6 months after the end of treatment. A questionnaire to assess the pain was applied. RESULTS: The number of hair shafts was significantly reduced with the diode laser and IPL. The diode laser was more effective, although more painful than the IPL. No serious, adverse, or permanent effects were observed with both technologies. CONCLUSION: Both diode laser and the IPL are effective, safe, and able to produce lasting results in axillary hair removal.

Atrofia de íris após tratamento estético facial com luz intensa pulsada / Iris atrophy after aesthetic treatment with intense pulsed light

Relato de um caso de complicação ocular, em consequência do uso de luz intensa pulsada, para tratamento facial cosmético. A lesão consistiu em atrofia iriana no setor temporal, com grande área de transiluminação, sinéquias posteriores, deformidade e redução da dilatação pupilar. O objetivo é alertar para os riscos do procedimento para os olhos, caso não sejam tomadas as medidas adequadas de proteção ocular.

The authors report a case of ocular complication, following Intense Pulsed Light for cosmetic facial treatment.The lesion was iris atrophy with a large transilumination area, posterior synechiae, deformity and reduced dilation of the pupil, on the temporal side. The aim is to alert for the risk of ocular lesion related to this procedure, if adequate measures to protect the eyes are not taken.

Summary: use of class 3b and class 4 lasers and intense pulsed light sources for cosmetic procedures in non-medical settings

INTRODUCTION: Body image has always preoccupied people across time and cultures. Today, the search for beauty can be fulfilled with high-power technologies that are relatively easy to use, such as Class 3b and Class 4 lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) sources. Lasers are devices that amplify light, emitting it in a narrow, coherent optical beam; the beam produced is near-monochromatic, the particles all move in the same direction, and the waves are in phase with one another. Intense pulsed light is based on different physical and technological principles. Unlike lasers, IPL sources emit polychromatic light (non-coherent, between 500 and 1,200 nm), and selected wavelengths are obtained by means of filters. These technologies are used for various cosmetic purposes and applications, including some that clearly come under activities reserved to physicians, while others fall into the grey areas surrounding medicine. Based on the definitions of the different fields of medical activity and on the laws and regulations governing the practice of medicine, this report has limited its scope to examining laser and IPL procedures that do not require medical diagnosis and that may be performed in Québec by operators other than physicians or health professionals, without medical supervision. This report does not purport to determine what does and does not lie within the scope of medicine. Rather, it focuses on the risks inherent in these technologies and on the qualifications required to use them, by taking hair removal as a base case and by dealing more briefly with skin resurfacing and tattoo removal, without ruling on the field of activity to which these practices belong. RESEARCH METHODS: Medline (National Library of Medicine) via PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched. The grey literature was also examined to take into account the contextual aspects that prompted the request for this report, especially the legal and regulatory provisions framing the use of lasers and IPL by non-physician operators in various countries and regions. In addition, local experts were consulted to validate the contextual evidence and the applicability of the ensuing recommendations. These experts are key actors in the following organizations: Association des dermatologistes du Québec; Collège des médecins du Québec; Comité sectoriel de la main-d'œuvre des services de soins personnels [sector committee on personal services workers]; Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport; Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale; and Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. CONCLUSION: Analysis of the scientific and contextual evidence leads to these findings: Class 3b and Class 4 lasers and IPL sources are high-power technologies entailing risks for operators and their customers. The use of these technologies leads to adverse effects that, although minor and transient for the most part, may in some cases be serious; however, scientific evidence does not allow us to determine their frequency or severity, or to link them with the types of professionals using them. Some cosmetic procedures may overlap with activities reserved to physicians when these. procedures are applied to areas of the skin with an underlying medical condition or with the risk of complications requiring medical expertise. Current Canadian safety standards regulate the sale and importation of these devices and their use in health-care facilities, and the safe use of lasers is governed by laws and regulations intended to protect workers' health and safety in all work settings. However, Québec has no law or regulation to protect the health and safety of the public undergoing laser or IPL procedures in non-medical settings. The use of Class 3b and Class 4 lasers and IPL sources is widespread in beauty care centres, but the specific types of devices used are not known. There is no professional order regulating the practice of estheticians or other types of personnel working in the personal services sector and likely to use laser or IPL devices, and the Office des professions du Québec has already denied the application by the Association des électrolystes du Québec to establish a professional order. The Comité sectoriel de la main-d'œuvre des services de soins personnels and the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport have already developed their own non-mandatory vocational training programs in laser hair removal, but these programs do not cover other cosmetic laser applications or the use of IPL. The Act respecting Workforce Vocational Training and Qualification (R.S.Q., c. F-5) could fill this regulatory gap in part by standardizing the required occupational skills, establishing vocational training and qualification programs, and determining occupational eligibility requirements for laser or IPL operators working in non-medical settings. In light of these findings, this report is not able to rule either on the safety of laser or IPL procedures by non-physician operators working without medical supervision or on the scope of activities that could be authorized to them in the Québec context. However, given that these technologies present hazards and may lead to adverse effects that are potentially serious when used for cosmetic procedures, and given that there is a serious possibility of interference with the field of medicine, AETMIS has reached the following conclusions, which define the major issues to be dealt with: The boundary between the procedures restricted to the field of medicine and the cosmetic procedures that may be performed by non-physician operators must be clearly established.

Utilisation des lasers de classe 3b et 4 et de la lumière intense pulsée à des fins esthétiques dans un contexte non médical / Use of class 3b and 4 lasers and intense pulsed light for aesthetic purposes in a non-medical context

INTRODUCTION: Body image has always preoccupied people across time and cultures. Today, the search for beauty can be fulfilled with high-power technologies that are relatively easy to use, such as Class 3b and Class 4 lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) sources. Lasers are devices that amplify light, emitting it in a narrow, coherent optical beam; the beam produced is near-monochromatic, the particles all move in the same direction, and the waves are in phase with one another. Intense pulsed light is based on different physical and technological principles. Unlike lasers, IPL sources emit polychromatic light (non-coherent, between 500 and 1,200 nm), and selected wavelengths are obtained by means of filters. These technologies are used for various cosmetic purposes and applications, including some that clearly come under activities reserved to physicians, while others fall into the grey areas surrounding medicine. Based on the definitions of the different fields of medical activity and on the laws and regulations governing the practice of medicine, this report has limited its scope to examining laser and IPL procedures that do not require medical diagnosis and that may be performed in Québec by operators other than physicians or health professionals, without medical supervision. This report does not purport to determine what does and does not lie within the scope of medicine. Rather, it focuses on the risks inherent in these technologies and on the qualification

Acné un nuevo aprote terapéutico / Acne: a new therapeutical approach

El acné es una patología que afecta casi al 80% de la población en algún momento de la vida. Múltiples terapéuticas locales y generales han sido utilizadas. En el presente estudio evaluamos la eficacia y seguridad del tratamiento de las lesiones activas de acné con luz pulsada como única terapéutica. Fueron tratados 91 pacientes y los resultados indican que la fototerapia es una opción terapéutica local con pocos efectos colaterales que evitaría el uso de drogas por vía general. Estos resultados fueron obtenidos en un período promedio de 4 semanas

Acne is a very common disease which affects a lot of people around the world. Multiple treatments options are available nowadays. In this study we evaluate the efficacy of IPL in active lesions of acne, as unique therapy. We treated 91 patients and results show the reduction of lesions in periods of follow-up between 4 to 6 weeks and provide a non-invasive alternative with drugs with potential secondary effects