Sixty adolescents with moderate-severe acne underwent investigation to establish the outcome of acne debridement + careful nursing on 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT).

Enrolled subjects were randomized to the observation group (receiving ALA-PDT and acne debridement + meticulous nursing intervention) and the control group (receiving standardized ALA-PDT and conventional nursing) for 6 months, following which the treatments therapeutic effect, adverse reaction incidence and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups.

• The acne debridement + meticulous nursing demonstrated 86.7% and 60% effectiveness, and the incidence of adverse reactions was 20% and 46.7%; in the observation group and the control group, respectively.
• These differences between the groups were statistically significant.
• The difference in the visual analog scores (VASs) for pain, was not statistically significant between the groups when measured immediately after the operations; however, they were statistically significant at 30 minutes and 60 minutes after the operation.
• Patient satisfaction differed significantly between the two groups.

Hence, in adolescent patients with ALA-PDT-treated moderate-severe acne, applying acne debridement + meticulous nursing improves the clinical treatment efficacy and patient comfort along with reducing the incidence of adverse reactions. Thus, this treatment method must be promoted in clinical practice.

Source: Ren R, Bao S, Qian W, et al. Topical ALA-photodynamic therapy combined with acne debridement and meticulous nursing for the treatment of moderate-severe acne in adolescent patients. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2021;14:1303-10.