Assessment of laser therapy on the quality of life in patients with hirsutism using the dermatology life quality index

Abstract

<span>Background: Hirsutism is defined as the presence of terminal</span><br /><span>hairs with a male-like pattern in women, due to the increased</span><br /><span>levels of androgens or increased responses of the target organs to</span><br /><span>androgens. Facial hirsutism has a negative effect on the quality of</span><br /><span>life in female patients. Among the many therapeutic modalities</span><br /><span>for hirsutism, laser therapy is of great acceptability. The long</span><br /><span>pulse Alexandrite laser, diode laser, and Nd:YAG laser are the</span><br /><span>most commonly used lasers in the treatment of hirsutism. In this</span><br /><span>study, we assessed the effect of laser therapy on the quality of</span><br /><span>life of the patients with hirsutism, using the Dermatology Life</span><br /><span>Quality Index (DLQI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS).</span><br /><span>Method: Forty-two female patients with idiopathic hirsutism,</span><br /><span>ranging from 18 to 34 years old, were studied during a course</span><br /><span>of laser therapy lasting for at least 4 months for up to 3 courses.</span><br /><span>Each patient completed a DLQI and VAS questionnaire before</span><br /><span>and after treatment. The VAS questionnaire was also filled out</span><br /><span>by the dermatologist.</span><br /><span>Result: Following laser therapy, the average DLQI score,</span><br /><span>decreased by 10 points (a statistically significant difference with</span><br /><span>p- value<0.001). VAS also declined and there was a moderate to</span><br /><span>good correlation between the VAS scores given by the patient</span><br /><span>and the dermatologist.</span><br /><span>Conclusion: This study demonstrated that laser therapy improved</span><br /><span>the quality of life in patients with hirsutism.</span>