Clinical efficacy of intense pulsed light combined with tacrolimus ointment in facial seborrheic dermatitis

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of intense pulsed light combined with tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment in patients with facial seborrheic dermatitis.Methods Forty-five patients with facial seborrheic dermatitis were enrolled in this study,and classified into two groups:the treatment group (n =24) treated with intense pulsed light once every 3 weeks for 3 times plus topical tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment twice daily,and the control group (n =21) treated with topical tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment twice daily alone for 4 weeks.Clinical outcomes were evaluated half a month after the end of the treatment.Results Pruritus,erythema and scaling were obviously improved in both groups.The clinical response rate was 87.50％ in the treatment group,significantly higher than that in the control group (57.14％).Topical tacrolimus ointment induced a transient irritant reaction in 7 patients.Transepidermal water loss (TEWL),skin erythema index and skin sebum content significantly decreased,while skin elasticity significantly increased in the treatment group when compared with those before treatment (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Intense pulsed light combined with tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with facial seborrheic dermatitis. Key words: Dermatitis, seborrheic;  Tacrolimus;  IPL