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European Journal of Medical Research
Published in: European Journal of Medical Research 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Hypopigmentation | Review

Laser treatment for Cafe-au-lait Macules: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors: Zi-Zhen Guo, Zhi-Chao Wang, Dun Wang, Ling-Ling Ge, Yue-Hua Li, Yi-Hui Gu, Wei Wang, Cheng-Jiang Wei, Bin Gu, Min Yao, Ji-Ying Dong, Qing-Feng Li

Published in: European Journal of Medical Research | Issue 1/2023

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Abstract

Nowadays, laser is the mainstay treatment for cafe-au-lait macules (CALMs), but no systematic review has been published to demonstrate the overall efficacy and it’s still controversial which type of laser is optimal. Thus, we conduct the meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of various types of lasers in treating CALMs. Original articles reporting the efficacy and side effects for CALMs in laser treatment were identified in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from 1983 to April 11, 2023. Using R software and the ‘meta’ package, meta-analysis was conducted for clearance and recurrence for evaluation of efficacy. And the occurrence of hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation rate was pooled for safety evaluation. We used RoB2 and ROBINS-I tools to assess the risks of bias in RCT studies and non-RCT studies, respectively. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system was used to assess the quality of the evidence. Nineteen studies involving 991 patients were included, which had a very low to moderate quality of evidence. The pooled 75% clearance rate was 43.3% (95% CI 31.8–54.7%, I2 = 96%), 50% clearance rate was 75% (95% CI 62.2–85.9%, I2 = 89%) and the recurrence rate was 13% (95% CI 3.2–26.5%, I2 = 88%). The pooled hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation rates were 1.2% (95% CI 0.3–2.1%, I2 = 0%) and 1.2% (95% CI 0.3–2%, I2 = 0%), respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed that QS-1064-nm Nd:YAG laser treatment not only achieved more than 75% clearance rate in 50.9% of patients (95% CI 26.9–74.4%, I2 = 90%) but also resulted in the lowest hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation rate of 0.5% (95% CI 0.0–2.5%, I2 = 26%) and 0.4% (95% CI 0.0–2.5%, I2 = 0%). To draw a conclusion, the laser treatment could reach an overall clearance rate of 50% for 75% of the patients with CALMs, for 43.3% of the patients, the clearance rate could reach 75%. When looking at different wavelength subgroups, QS-1064-nm Nd:YAG laser exhibited the best treatment capability. Laser of all the wavelength subgroups presented acceptable safety regarding of the low occurrence of side effects, namely, hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation.
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Metadata
Title
Laser treatment for Cafe-au-lait Macules: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors
Zi-Zhen Guo
Zhi-Chao Wang
Dun Wang
Ling-Ling Ge
Yue-Hua Li
Yi-Hui Gu
Wei Wang
Cheng-Jiang Wei
Bin Gu
Min Yao
Ji-Ying Dong
Qing-Feng Li
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
European Journal of Medical Research / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 2047-783X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-023-01143-1

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