Prospective cohort study of the treatment of non-neoplastic epithelial disorders of the vulva with a fractional Carbon Dioxide laser

The therapeutic efficacy of fractional Carbon Dioxide laser treatment on non-neoplastic epithelial disorders of the vulva was investigated and compared with that of electrostimulation of smooth muscle; This study prospectively included 80 patients with non-neoplastic epithelial disorders of the vulva, including 40 cases of lichen simplex chronicus and 40 cases of lichen sclerosus, Each grou p contained 20 cases of chronic lichen simplex chronicus and 20 cases of lichen sclerosus. One grou p was treated via fractional Carbon Dioxide laser (the laser treatment group) while the other grou p was treated via electrostimulation of smooth muscle (the electrostimulation group). The treatments were completed according to the routine clinical treatment cycle, and outpatient follow-u p visits were performed 3, 6, and 12 months after the completion of treatment. The efficacies were scored according to the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGI-C) scale and the clinical efficacy rating scale.The PGI-C scores of the laser treatment grou p at 3, 6, and 12 months after the completion of the treatment were significantly superior to those of the electrostimulation grou p ( P < 0.05 for all time points). The scores based on the clinical efficacy rating scale showed that the 2 groups had no statistically significant difference in overall efficacy, but the total effective rate in the laser treatment grou p was higher than that in the electrostimulation grou p 3 months (90.00% vs 77.50%), 6 months (87.50% vs 72.50%), and 12 months (87.50% vs 67.50%) after the completion of treatment. Comparison of pathological subtypes between these 2 groups found that in the laser treatment group, patients with lichen simplex chronicus had higher PGI-C scores and clinical efficacy scores than did patients with lichen sclerosus. Fractional Carbon Dioxide laser treatment can achieve a better therapeutic effect than can electrostimulation of smooth muscle for the treatment of non-neoplastic epithelial disorders of the vulva. In addition, fractional Carbon Dioxide laser treatment achieved superior subjective improvement and clinical efficacy for the treatment of lichen simplex chronicus.