Efficacy Comparison of Pulsed Dye Laser vs. Microsecond 1064-nm Neodymium:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet Laser in the Treatment of Rosacea: A Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE: The advantage of pulsed dye laser (PDL) for the treatment of rosacea is not yet clear. This meta-analysis compared the curative effect of PDL to neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser for the treatment of rosacea. METHODS: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for clinical studies on the efficacy of PDL for the treatment of rosacea through October 13, 2021, and heterogeneity tests among studies were evaluated. Meta-analysis was conducted to combine the effects of physicians' clinical assessments, patient global assessment, erythema index, and visual analog scale. RESULTS: A total of 326 articles were obtained from three databases and ten articles were finally included. The clinical improvements of >50% clearance of up to 68.6% in the PDL group and 71.4% in the control group, and the subjective satisfaction rate of patients in the PDL group of 88.6% compared to 91.4% in the Nd:YAG group, but there were no significant differences in the rates of patients with rosacea with clinical improvement (>50% clearance) (relative risk [RR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75–1.17, P = 0.578) or patient subjective satisfaction rate (RR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.70–1.33, P = 0.808) between PDL and Nd:YAG groups for rosacea treatment. Also, the pain score for PDL and Nd:YAG were not significant (mean = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.82–4.32, P = 0.115). CONCLUSION: Two treatments all showed clinical efficacy and patient satisfaction for the treatment of rosacea, with no significant differences observed between treatments. The pain scores for PDL and Nd:YAG were not significant.