Efficacy of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of port wine stains: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Port wine stains (PWS) often cause cosmetic effects and psychological distress. Pulsed dye lasers (PDL) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are the most commonly used treatments. PDL is still the "gold standard" of therapy to date. However, its shortcomings have become apparent as clinical applications have increased. PDT has been proven as an alternative to PDL. Patients with PWS still lack enough evidence about PDT to make informed treatment decisions.

Objective

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the safety and effectiveness of PDT for PWS.

Methods

The online datasets, comprising PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, were searched for meta-analysis-relevant publications. Two reviewers separately evaluated

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9988944 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature