Narrow-Band Intense Pulsed Light as Treatment for Erythematotelangiectatic Rosacea: A Retrospective Study

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis that manifests as facial erythema, telangiectasia, papule, and pustule. Clinically, it can be classified into the following 4 common subtypes: erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR), papulopustular rosacea, phymatous rosacea, and ocular rosacea.¹ ETR is mainly characterized by flushing and persistent central facial erythema with or without telangiectasia. Associated secondary features, such as central facial edema, burning sensation, and scaling, may be present simultaneously.² Moreover, persistent facial erythema is the most characteristic clinical manifestation of ETR that affects an individual’s appearance and has a significant psychosocial effect.³ Traditional medical therapies, such as topical and oral antibiotics are effective for ETR treatment; however, improvement in erythema and telangiectasia is limited.⁴ Recently, various laser and light-based devices, such as pulsed dye laser (PDL), potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP), intense pulsed light (IPL), and IPL combined with radiofrequency have been successfully used for the treatment of erythema and telangiectasia in patients with ETR.⁵ 

Dye pulsed light (DPL)⁶ is a kind of narrow-band pulsed light technology, and it uses filters that concentrate the light into a narrow and specific spectrum (500-600 nm), which contains the absorption peak of melanin and hemoglobin. The output energy could accurately concentrate on the blood vessels and spots improving facial erythema and pigmentation more efficiently. In addition, compared with broadband IPL, the Dye-PL handpieces (Alma Lasers Ltd., Israel) provide optimum results without exposing the skin to wavelengths that may produce adverse effects. DPL provides an effective, non-invasive approach to vascular treatment. In this study, we aimed to retrospectively analyze the clinical efficacy of DPL (500-600 nm) in treating ETR in Chinese individuals.