A Meta-analysis-Based Assessment of Intense Pulsed Light for Treatment of Melasma

A safe and effective treatment for melasma, an acquired refractory pigmented skin disease, remains a problem, although numerous clinical trials have explored the possibility of combined therapy involving intense pulsed light. To date, little is known regarding the efficacy of this treatment. The current study, therefore, sought to explore the effectiveness of intense pulsed light.

We used published studies from literature databases, based on established inclusion criteria, to calculate standardized mean differences (SMDs) and risk ratio (RRs), and evaluated the effectiveness of combined therapy with intense pulsed light in melasma patients. We performed data analysis using the Review Manager 5.3 software at 95% confidence interval.

We obtained a total of 8 studies, involving 215 patients, from the databases and found a significant effect on efficacy following combined therapy with intense pulsed light. Specifically, the melasma area and severity index (MASI) score was significantly low (SMD = 0.61, CI [0.42, 0.80] P < 0.0001 for a fixed-effects model), while a four-point scoring scale self-assessment by patients was significantly high (RR = 1.44, CI [1.17, 1.76] P = 0.0004 for a fixed-effects model).

Our meta-analysis showed that IPL-based combination therapy for melasma can effectively reduce the MASI score and result in higher satisfaction among patients, indicating an effective method for treatment of the condition.

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