Avaliação clínica das técnicas com peeling de ácido salicílico e de fototerapia para tratamento de acne vulgar graus I e II em adolescentes

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit and it affects about 80 % of the adolescents and youth. Changes in the formation and differentiation of the pilosebaceous follicle cells produce hyperkeratinization and follicle clogging. The most known bacteria in acne is the Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes). For several years the acne treatment was based on the oral and topical drugs, among them retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and antibiotics. However these treatments can induce adverse effects. Hence alternative treatments have been developed, such as exposure to visible light, essentially blue and red lights. In this way the aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical progress of the acne vulgaris treatment with phototherapy and compare it to the salicylic acid peeling. The teenagers were randomly divided in two groups. The group I (n = 11) was treated with peeling with salicylic acid 10 %; the group II (n = 11) was treated with phototherapy. Photographs were taken before and at the end of each treatment. The evolution of the treatments was made by comparing photographs by the number of comedones, pustules and papules at the beginning and end of treatment. Data showed that both techniques were effective therapies in the treatment of acne, since the number of comedones, papules and pustules decreased significantly (p <0.05) at the end of the sessions. However, when the two techniques were compared, phototherapy showed significant improvement (p <0.05) in the difference of the number of pustules. Thus, we conclude that blue and red lights combination, due to their anti-inflammatory properties, is a safe option without adverse effects. Moreover, comparing the salicylic acid peeling to the phototherapy, the improvement was higher in the phototherapy treatment in terms of decreasing de number of pustules.