Skin Preparation for Photodynamic Therapy, Chemexfoliation, and Ablative Laser Resurfacing: a Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND Photodynamic therapy, chemexfoliation, and ablative laser resurfacing are common practices for dermatologists, yet no formal protocols exist regarding preprocedural skin preparation. OBJECTIVE To review and summarize the skin preparation protocols for photodynamic therapy, chemexfoliation, and ablative laser resurfacing available in the literature. METHODS Data Sources A systematic review of English and non-English articles using the PubMed database was performed. A manual search of bibliographies from relevant articles was also performed to collect additional studies. Study Selection Only articles in the English language with full texts available that pertained to skin preparation for photodynamic therapy, chemexfoliation, and ablative laser resurfacing were included. Data Extraction Article selection was performed by one author, and relevant sources were verified by other authors using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS There is a paucity of scientific research regarding efficacy and safety of dermatologic preprocedural skin preparation agents. Only 2 studies have compared various cleansing agents for these measures. Yet, strong statements regarding the importance of degreasing are published without supportive data. CONCLUSION Consensus guidelines for preprocedural protocols are lacking for photodynamic therapy, chemexfoliation, and ablative laser resurfacing. Further studies are warranted to explore the efficacy and safety of various preprocedural cleansing agents.