[Port wine stains and Pulsed Dye Laser: study of prognostic factors in 74 Moroccan patients]

Pulsed dye laser (LCP) is currently the gold standard for Port wine stains (PWS) treatment. However, predictive clinical criteria indicating a right or poor response are not yet clear in our context. This study aims to determine the factors associated with poor/good response in Moroccan patients with PWS treated with LCP. We conducted a retrospective study of patients treated for PWS at the dermatology department at the CHU Ibn Rochd in Casablanca between January 2008 and December 2013. We collected the following clinical parameters: age, sex, location, history, parameters used, number of sessions, phototype and physician satisfaction with outcome of the bleaching therapy. A good response was defined by the achievement of 50% lesional lightening at the end of the 6th session. Patients were contacted by telephone to measure their satisfaction. These results were correlated with the clinical parameters mentioned above. We set our significance level at 0.05. Seventy-four patients were eligible The female sex represented 69% and the median age was 18 years. It occurred predominantly on the face (94%). The comparative study of good/poor responders showed that the mean age in the group of good responders was lower than that of poor responders with a significant difference (p = 0.047). The number of sessions in the group of good responders was higher (p = 0.044). The parameters were variable from one patient to another. There was no difference in the type of skin between the two groups. The best bleached location was the area V2. This study showed that patients undergoing several PWS treatment sessions at a young age had a superior therapeutic response in our context. This highlights the role of early diagnosis and short interval management to improve outcomes and minimize adverse effects.