The use of multiple, sequential light and laser sources for topical aminolevulinic acid (ALA) activation in photodynamic therapy (PDT) for rosacea, while well tolerated, did not lead to statistically significant improvements in patient-reported efficacy, a recent study found. Researchers conducted a retrospective, single-center study of 39 patients (39 treatments). The aim of the study was to evaluate ALA-PDT for rosacea using blue light sequentially with red light, pulsed dye laser (PDL), and/or intense pulsed light (IPL). They found:

• There was no statistically significant difference in patient-reported rosacea or overall skin quality improvement.
• Apart from decreased peeling following blue light + IPL compared to blue light + PDL, and blue light + IPL + PDL, there were no other statistically significant differences in postprocedure adverse events.