A Dermoscopic Evaluation of Melasma Treated with Tranexamic Acid

Abstract

Background:
 Melasma is a great challenge to the dermatologist. Choosing the proper treatment and the evaluation method are hard issues. Tranexamic acid [TA] injections showed promising results. The dermoscope is a non -invasive hand held tool
 Objective:
 To evaluate the efficacy of TA injections in the management of melasma and to assess a new dermoscopic score for assessment of melasma severity.
 Patients & Methods:
 Twenty-seven patients were enrolled in the study. They were assessed clinically, and by dermoscopy. An intradermal tranexamic acid was injected on the melasma. Melasma Area and Severity Index [MASI] was used to assess the melasma.
 Results: high significant difference was found between pre [4.700±2.1213] and post [2.811±2.0870] treatment values of MASI score [p= 0.0001]. Clinically TA treatment showed a dramatic improvement in MASI.
 Conclusion:
 The intradermal usage of TA can actually decrease improved the melasma. This was confirmed by the MASI scores and the dermoscope. The dermoscope could be considered as a useful objective score for melasma.