Photodynamic therapy for perioral dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of perioral dermatitis (POD) consists of topical steroids, oral antibiotics, and topical antibiotics.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in the treatment of POD.

METHODS: A split-face 21-patient study was conducted in which one side of the face was treated 4 times weekly with ALA PDT (30-minute ALA incubation) with blue light activation and the other side with topical clindamycin. Lesions were counted and photographs were taken before and after the final treatment. Patient satisfaction was also evaluated.

RESULTS: Fourteen patients (66.7%) completed the study. Facial sides treated with ALA PDT achieved a mean clearance of 92.1% compared to 80.9% for the clindamycin-treated sides. The difference was significant (P=0.0227). The mean patient satisfaction level for the ALA PDT-treated side was 4.4 (1-5 scale).

CONCLUSION: ALA PDT may be a promising alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of POD.