Progress in the clinical treatment of keloids

Keloid is a pathological scar that is higher than the skin surface following skin damage. Its lesion range often extends beyond the original damage boundary and does not naturally subside over time. Its pathogenesis is very complex, currently the main causes include fibroblast excessive proliferation, collagen and extracellular matrix (Extracellular matrix, ECM) excessive deposition, excessive angiogenesis, and so on. The traditional treatment method primarily involves surgical intervention, but it is associated with a high recurrence rate post-surgery. Consequently, many treatment methods are derived according to the different clinical characteristics of keloid. This paper will review the therapeutic progress in recent years from surgical treatment, physiotherapy, drug therapy, and biological therapy, with the goal of offering valuable insights for the clinical treatment of keloids.

The burden of gout in acne keloidalis nuchae-Insights from a population-based study

BACKGROUND

The risk of gout amid patients with acne keloidalis nuchae (AKN) has not been investigated in the past.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the risk of developing gout among patients with AKN relative to control subjects.

METHODS

A population-based retrospective study followed patients with AKN (n = 2677) and age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched control subjects (n = 13 190). The incidence of new-onset gout was compared between the two groups. Hazard ratio (HR) for the risk of gout was obtained using a multivariate Cox regression model.

RESULTS

The incidence rate of gout was 1.12 (95% CI, 0.68-1.76) and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.34-0.66) per 1000 person-years among patients with AKN and controls, respectively. The crude risk of developing gout was significantly higher in patients with AKN (HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.26-4.10; p = 0.007). After controlling for age, sex, and ethnicity, AKN emerged as an independent risk factor of gout (adjusted HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.29-4.22; p = 0.005). When adjusting for other confounders such as body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, the risk of gout in AKN fell out of significance (adjusted HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.73-2.65; p = 0.311), CONCLUSION: Patients with AKN experience an increased risk of gout. The risk is not independent and is mainly mediated through the metabolic comorbidities typifying AKN. We recommend screening for gout in patients with suggestive complaints.

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials investigating laser assisted drug delivery for the treatment of keloid and hypertrophic scars

The objective of this article is to study the clinical efficacy and adverse events of laser-assisted drug delivery in the treatment of hypertrophic and keloid scars. We searched the following databases up to 22 October 2020: the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical Trials) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and reference lists of articles for randomised clinical trials (RCTs) of laser-assisted drug delivery for the treatment of hypertrophic and keloid scars. We also searched online trials registries for ongoing trials and contacted trial authors where appropriate. Our outcomes of interest were objective clinical evaluation of scars, participant satisfaction, and adverse effects of the treatments. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality using Cochrane Risk of Bias 2. Two authors independently abstracted data. We included 10 RCTs involving a total of 329 participants: six trials utilised parallel-arm RCTs whilst four employed split-scar design. Three trials had high risk of bias with the remaining seven rated as having some concerns. The interventions and outcomes were too varied to be combined statistically. High-quality randomised controlled trials assessing laser-assisted delivery for drugs in the context of hypertrophic and/or keloid scarring are needed. Studies with a larger number of participants, with longer follow-up times, and standardised evaluation of outcome and adverse effects are warranted.

[Scientometric analysis of evidence-based studies of physical methods of post-acne scar correction]

The scope of physical methods for correcting the pathological skin scars is rapidly growing but the results of their use are often unsatisfactory. An inadequate approach to therapy without taking into account the assessment of their effectiveness leads to relapses, increased growth of scar tissue or the absence of a clinically significant effect which requires strict scientific evidence in the course of benign scientific studies.

OBJECTIVE

Scientometric analysis of evidence-based studies on the use of therapeutic physical factors in the correction of post-acne scars.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The analysis of evidence-based studies in electronic databases (PEDro, PubMed, eLibrary) and in databases of systematic reviews (Cochrane database) for the period from 2015 to 2020 was carried out. The following terms in Russian and English were taken as key words: acne scars (acne scarring), physical therapy (physical therapy). The final assessment of physical methods of correction included mainly data from foreign systematic reviews, meta-analyzes of RCTs, data from individual RCTs in English and/or Russian and tests rated at 4 points or higher on the PEDro scale.

RESULTS

The clinical effects and supposed mechanisms of action of the currently proven therapeutic physical factors in the treatment of patients with post-acne scars are considered in detail. The most studied physical methods are technologies of high-intensity laser therapy (44.2%), fractional radiofrequency therapy (17%), combined methods of exposure (high-intensity laser therapy or micro-needling in combination with peels, fillers, PRP injection) (25%), micro-needling as monotherapy (5.8%) and microdermabrasion (4.5%) causing the most significant clinical changes and pronounced remodeling of the extracellular matrix of the skin in the area of scars.

CONCLUSION

There is a need for regular synthesis and analysis of existing evidence-based studies, as well as the implementation of new high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials to study the effect of physical correction methods on post-acne scars which serve as the basis for the development of clinical guidelines.