Race Reporting in Dermabrasion Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Clinical Trials
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Dermabrasion is a dermatological procedure with varying outcomes.
• Patient demographics, including race and skin type, can influence treatment efficacy and risk.
• Accurate reporting of participant demographics is crucial for understanding treatment outcomes across diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the frequency and methods of race and skin type reporting in clinical trials evaluating dermabrasion.
• To assess the completeness of demographic data in published dermabrasion studies.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of PubMed was conducted using terms related to dermabrasion.
• Clinical trial and randomized controlled trial filters were applied, excluding non-English articles.
• Manual screening of identified articles was performed to determine final inclusion criteria.

Main Results:

• Of the 41 included studies, 46% mentioned race, skin color, or Fitzpatrick skin type (FST).
• Only 22% of studies reported race or skin color for 513 patients, with 94% identified as White.
• Four studies reported FST for 78 participants, detailing distribution across types I-V.

Conclusions:

• The collection and reporting of racial demographic information in dermabrasion clinical trials are infrequent.
• The absence of comprehensive demographic data limits the generalizability of study findings.
• Investigators should prioritize collecting and reporting participant race to enhance risk stratification and transparency in dermatological research.