Use of radiofrequency in cosmetic dermatology: focus on nonablative treatment of acne scars

Figures & data

Table 1 Radiofrequency treatment studies for acne scars

Authors	Patients in study	Acne scar type	RF treatment	Number of sessions	Skin type (I–VI)	Adverse effects	Outcomes	Follow-up (months)
Rongsaard and Rummaneethorn^Citation25	20 M=12 W=8	Atrophic	Fractional bipolar, 64-pin, 53–59 mj/pin, with two passes	3 at 4-week intervals	III–V	Pain 5.91 (out of 10), scabbing	Moderate to good improvement (25%–75%), no difference between particular laser and RF	1
Gold and Biron^Citation23	15 M=13 W=2	Mild to moderate facial	Fractional bipolar, 64-pin, 32–56 mj/pin, single pass	3 at 4-week intervals	I–V	Transient erythema, dryness, scabbing, and bruising	60% much improved, 30% improved, 10% no change, fine lines and wrinkles significantly improved	1, 3
Cho et al^Citation24	30 M=12 W=18	Mild to moderate facial	Fractional bipolar microneedle, 49-electrode, 500-W, double-pass	2	–	Transient pain	73.3% saw improvement, 23.3% did not change. 21 patients improved by one grade and 1 patient by two grades	2, 3
Ramesh et al^Citation22	30 M=10 W=20	Icepick, boxcar, and rolling	Bipolar fractional with 10–20 J Pretreatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics and topical 0.025% isotretinoin	4 at 1-month intervals	IV–VI	Transient edema, burning sensation, and erythema	13.33% excellent cosmetic outcome, 60% good, and 26.67% poor. Better results with icepick scars than rolling or boxcar scars	2, 6
Montesi et al^Citation21	4	Three facial and one décolleté	Bipolar, 24 J/pulse for 3 seconds	6–8 at 2-week intervals	–	Transient erythema and ecchymosis	1 patient over 50% improvement, 2 patients with 25%–50% improvement, 1 patient treatment failure	3
Ruiz-Esparza and Gomez^Citation20	22 M=12 W=10	Moderate to severe scarring, cystic acne	Unipolar, 6 MHz, 65–103 J/cm^2 with cryogen cooling	1–2	–	No burns, patients tolerated pain well	Improvement in underlying scarring	1–8

Abbreviations: M, men; RF, radiofrequency; W, women.

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