Experience of using of low-temperature argon plasma in the treatment of postacne

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been a growing number of scientific literature concerning the correction of the consequences of acne vulgaris, united by the term "post-acne symptom complex". Post-inflammatory pigmentation and postacne scars can be persistent, progress and persist for months to years, significantly reducing patients' quality of life. Moreover, consequences of acne vulgaris require expensive treatment. Thus, the problem of postacne prevention and treatment remains actual for both dermatovenerologists, cosmetologists and patients.

AIM: Clinical and morphofunctional assessment of the effectiveness and tolerability of the monotherapy of using of low-temperature argon plasma in patients with postacne.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 15 patients with postacne (13 women and 2 men) aged 18 to 30 years, 10 of them had mild severity, 5 had moderate-to-severe postacne. All patients received monotherapy using the Plazmoran plasma arc installation. The course of treatment consisted of 10 procedures performed every other day, the observation period was 1 month. Dermatological examination was carried out visually with assessment of the severity of pigmented spots, erythema and scarring using the postacne scar scales by G.J. Goodman et al. In order to assess the morphofunctional parameters of facial skin, all patients underwent a non-invasive digital study using the Capricorn AI Intelligent Imager Bitmoji device, based on 3D visualization. To study the impact of the disease on various aspects of the patient's life and as an effectiveness criterion, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was used.

RESULTS: In the majority of patients using Plazmoran monotherapy a reduction in postacne manifestations was observed within the first 2 weeks. Moreover, there was a significant regression of inflammatory elements, the skin texture was improved. As a result of the treatment, significant improvement was achieved in 10 patients and improvement in 5. At the end of the entire observation period, according to the questionnaire, the subjects observed a decrease in DLQI compared with the baseline (15.6±3.4 vs. 8.3±0.9; p <0.05), which indicates an improvement of the quality of life and psychoemotional state of patients and the effectiveness of therapy.

CONCLUSION: The Plazmoran plasma arc installation is a highly effective method for correcting and preventing the development of the post-acne symptom complex of mild and moderate severity, which is as confirmed based on the results of a visual examination and the positive dynamics of indicators of superficial and deep analysis of facial skin (sebumetry, corneometry, pigmentation, reactivity and level colonization by Cutibacterium acnes). The procedure is well tolerated by patients with no any adverse events.