A comparative study of efficacy of dermaroller versus fractional CO₂ laser for management of post acne scars

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is a chronic skin disease caused due to blockage and/or inflammation of pilosebaceous units in which lesions present as non-inflammatory, inflammatory or mixture of both. The inflammatory type, often results in distressing scars for which dermaroller therapy and fractional CO2 laser have shown to be effective treatment modalities. Material and Methods: This is a prospective, descriptive and hospital based study. Total of 140 cases were enrolled in study carried out for 1 year in the Department of Dermatology at tertiary health centre and medical college with subsequent follow up of up to six months. Patients with acne scars under the groupings of a score > 3 points on Global Acne Scarring Classification Scale were enrolled. Results: Out of 140 patients, (70 -dermaroller group, 70 -CO2 laser group) completed treatment and follow-up. Dermaroller therap results indicated that the baseline was 23.43±6.32 and reduced to 13.23±3.65 after the treatment. This difference was found to be statistically highly significant with p value as <0.0001. On the other hand, the baseline and follow up after fractional CO2 laser therapy was evaluated and the results indicated that the mean objective score before treatment was 23.95±6.85 and after treatment, it was 16.34±4.75. This difference was statistically highly significant p value <0.0001. Conclusion:On comparing the efficacy of dermaroller therapy and fractional CO2 laser in the treatment of post-acne scars, both were found to be efficacious while fractional CO2 laser being more effective in treating severe acne scars than dermaroller therapy.

The Effectiveness of Microneedling Therapy on The Severity of Acne Scars According to Goodman and Baron: A Systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Goodman and Baron by Elfar (2020) and Monisha (2021). 21,28 Both studies gave significant results in quantitative reduction in the degree of acne scars (macular, mild, moderate, and severe) with microneedling therapy combined with PRP that could be given as a single therapy, compared to controls given PRP therapy or CO2 fractional laser. The Elfar study (2020) which resulted from the combination of PRP with microneedling obtained a quantitative improvement in the degree of scars according to Goodman and Baron which was much lower than the Monisha study (2021).…”

“…Based on the study characteristics data, the research articles included in the meta-analysis were 4 studies, namely Elfar (2020), Ibrahim (2017), Ibrahim (2018) and Monisha (2021), reporting data on the mean degrees of pre and post acne scars in the control and treatment.…”