Treatment of vitiligo with 308‐nm light emitting diode: Our experience from a two‐year follow‐up of Chinese patients
Chao Luan, Yu Hu, Mei Ju, Dan Huang, Ronglin Zhang, Xiaohua Zhang, Panpan Tian, Yan Zhu, Zhuang Chen, Jia‐An Zhang, Kun Chen
Abstract
Abstract Background A light emitting diode (LED), with a wavelength of 308 nm, has been utilized in the dermatologic treatment of vitiligo. Objectives We investigated the efficacy and safety of 308‐nm LED for use in the treatment of vitiligo. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 70 stable‐stage vitiligo patients (with a total of 99 lesions) who received 308‐nm LED treatment at the Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College from June 2018 to June 2020. Treatment efficacy was evaluated after 8 treatment sessions, 16 treatment sessions, and the final treatment session, to estimate the percentage of re‐pigmentation in the treated area. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used for data analysis. Results Based on the final treatment session analysis of all 99 lesions, 0 lesions showed no response, 21 lesions showed poor response, 29 lesions showed moderate response, 23 lesions showed good response, and 26 lesions showed excellent response. The efficacy rate was 49.49%, and there was a significant correlation between the six distinct anatomical regions treated and re‐pigmentation grade (χ 2 = 13.419, p = .009). Among these regions, facial lesions showed the best response to treatment, while the hands and feet lesions showed the poorest response. Conclusions The clinical efficacy of 308‐nm LED treatment is limited based on the treatment area. It demonstrated significant practical application in the treatment of vitiligo.