Comparative study of the use of fractional CO2 laser versus the use of liquid nitrogen cryotherapy in the treatment of alopecia areata in a sample of the Egyptian population

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that is represented as patches of hair loss, fractional CO2 laser and cryotherapy are used to stimulate hair growth in patients of AA. Evaluation of fractional CO2 laser effect versus liquid nitrogen cryotherapy in the treatment of AA. Eighty patients presented with patches of AA. The first group consisted of 40 patients were treated with fractional CO2 laser, the second group also 40 patients were treated with cryotherapy. The efficacy of the treatment was statistically evaluated. A positive therapeutic response was noted in most patients by trichoscopy at the end of treatment, there was a decrease in exclamation mark hairs, yellow dots, black dots, broken hairs, and an increase in short vellus hair and circle hair of patients compared to baseline and control. No serious side effects were seen. Fractional CO2 laser and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy are considered a promising, safe, and effective treatment modality with the better result with CO2 laser.