In general , active non-invasive anaesthetic methods seemed to provide favourable results compared to placebo or no anaesthesia , and topical anaesthetic drugs and PSF seemed to result in a better pain reduction than skin cooling .
However , the current evidence is insufficient to provide recommendations for daily clinical practice .
Future studies should also evaluate sex differences in pain perception , have uniformity with regard to vali date d pain measurement scales and address clinical ly significant differences in pain reduction besides statistically significant differences
Pain is a common side-effect of dermatological laser procedures .
Non-invasive anaesthetic drugs and anaesthetic procedures can be used to provide pain relief and increase patient satisfaction and treatment efficacy .
However , it remains unclear which method provides the best pain relief .
The objective of this systematic review was therefore to assess the efficacy and safety of non-invasive anaesthetic methods during dermatological laser procedures .
Preliminary study of fine changes in the duration of dynamic cooling during 755-nm laser hair removal on pain and epidermal damage in patients with skin types III-V.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The use of the long-pulsed 755-nm alex and rite laser has been an effective tool in hair removal . A dynamic cooling device ( DCD ) is commonly used with this laser in order to minimize epidermal damage . No studies have examined how fine changes in DCD duration may affect comfort and epidermal damage during laser hair removal . This study was design ed to determine what effect , changes in the duration of dynamic cooling would have on pain and epidermal damage with laser hair removal ( 755 nm alex and rite ) in patients with darker skin types . STUDY DESIGN / MATERIAL S AND METHODS Ten volunteers with Fitzpatrick skin types III-V were enrolled . A 755-nm alex and rite laser with a pulse duration of 3 milliseconds and equipped with a DCD was used with the 12 mm spot size on matched treatment sites . We compared cryogen spurt duration s of 0 , 20 , 40 , 60 , 80 , and 100 milliseconds on pain and epidermal changes . The spray delay was set at 1 millisecond . Pain rating scales and epidermal changes ( skin sloughing , hyperpigmentation , hypopigmentation and scarring ) were assessed . RESULTS Overall a decrease in pain was seen with increases in spurt duration . A spurt duration of 20 milliseconds was beneficial for pain reduction in all patients . Longer spurt duration s were associated with additional pain relief especially when geographic spacing of pulses was maximized to prevent thermal build-up . In regards to epidermal protection , most patients benefited with shorter cryogen duration s of 20 - 60 milliseconds . There was little advantage with longer spurt duration s. Some patients treated at higher fluences without cooling had no detectable side effects . CONCLUSIONS Increasing DCD spurt duration in laser hair removal provides its strongest benefit in the area of pain reduction , particularly in type V patients . Increasing cryogen spurt duration s above a protective threshold shows no significant benefit in terms of epidermal protection . Changing the spurt duration may not be as important in some patients with darker skin types
In general , active non-invasive anaesthetic methods seemed to provide favourable results compared to placebo or no anaesthesia , and topical anaesthetic drugs and PSF seemed to result in a better pain reduction than skin cooling .
However , the current evidence is insufficient to provide recommendations for daily clinical practice .
Future studies should also evaluate sex differences in pain perception , have uniformity with regard to vali date d pain measurement scales and address clinical ly significant differences in pain reduction besides statistically significant differences
Pain is a common side-effect of dermatological laser procedures .
Non-invasive anaesthetic drugs and anaesthetic procedures can be used to provide pain relief and increase patient satisfaction and treatment efficacy .
However , it remains unclear which method provides the best pain relief .
The objective of this systematic review was therefore to assess the efficacy and safety of non-invasive anaesthetic methods during dermatological laser procedures .