Photodynamic therapy in patients with rosacea

Abstract

Rosacea is characterized by intense flushing on the cheeks and nose, which affects the entire face, with the appearance of dilated blood vessels, accompanied by inflammatory lesions called papulo-pustules, which has motivated the search for treatments, with photodynamic therapy being a favorable therapeutic option. The objective of the present quasi-experimental research was to determine the effect of photodynamic therapy in a sample of 23 patients treated in a private practice, who underwent clinical assessment before and after the treatment was applied, consisting of facial hygiene and peeling, then, the photodynamic serum containing 5-aminolevulinic acid was applied, which is the photosensitizer occluding the face and neck with plastic wrap.  Left to act for 15 minutes, then yellow light with a wavelength of 590 nm + 10 nm was exposed for 15 minutes. A total of 4 sessions were held every 15 days. 82.6% of the patients were women, with an average age of 39.9 + 10.2 years, with a predominance of erythemato-telangiectatic rosacea (56.5%), cutaneous phototype according to Fitzpatrick grade III (43.5%). The changes observed were a decrease in erythema (100.0%) and edema (34.8%). In terms of satisfaction, all patients found improvement in skin redness (100.0%) and inflammation (100.0%), finding favorable changes such as skin softness (78.3%). According to the results, it can be said that photodynamic therapy is a good alternative in the treatment of rosacea, being effective and without obvious undesirable effects.