Background
Melasma treatment is difficult due to extended treatment periods, suboptimal adherence, inconsistent results, and frequent relapses. Kojic acid has been shown to be effective in reducing melasma severity and is now increasingly used in cosmetic treatments.
Aims
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new cosmetic treatment for melasma at 45 and 90 days.
Methods
Multicenter prospective study across 20 dermatology clinics/ambulatories. One hundred patients with mild‐to‐moderate melasma were evaluated. The primary endpoints were changes in mean modified melasma area and severity index (mMASI) score and patient‐reported satisfaction at 45 and 90 days.
Results
The mean age of patients was 45.19 ± 11.5 years. Most patients were female and Caucasian. Patients presented mixed (65%), epidermal (26%), and dermal (4%) types of melasma. Triggering factors were hormonal contraception (33%), pregnancy (31%), and pharmacological treatment (11%); mean disease duration was 6.7 ± 6.8 years. Overall, a statistically significant decrease in mean mMASI scores was seen at 45 (2.19 ± 0.182 vs 3.29 ± 0.267, P < .0001) and 90 days (1.27 ± 0.128 vs 3.29 ± 0.267, P < .00001). The highest reduction in mMASI scores was observed in patients with dermal melasma. IGA scores showed a statistically significant improvement in pigmentation at 90 days (P < .00001).
Conclusion
The novel cosmetic treatment was associated with the improvement of melasma, as assessed by mMASI.
Six cases of Scopulariopsis onychomycosis, including four patients with onychomycosis exclusively caused by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and two patients with a mixed nail infection (S. brevicaulis + Tricophyton rubrum and S. brevicaulis + T. interdigitale), are reported. Four patients presented with a typical distal subungual onychomycosis characterized by subungual hyperkeratosis and onycholysis of the distal nail plate. In two patients, Scopulariopsis infection produced a total dystrophic onychomycosis associated with painful periungual inflammation. Three patients were treated with four pulses of itraconazole, 400 mg daily for 1 week a month, and three patients with terbinafine, 250 mg daily for 4 months. The mycological examination 8 months after discontinuation of treatment showed that one patient was mycologically cured whereas the remaining five patients still carried S. brevicaulis in their nails. The clinical examination at the end of the follow-up period showed a complete cure of the nail abnormalities in only one patient.
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