European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: To find the effect of microneedling dermapen© on dark skin individuals and
severe form of atrophic acne scar.
Patients and methods: The study was conducted as open clinical trial in dermatology clinic at
Ibn-Sina Teaching Hospital in Mosul, Iraq. Twenty-five patients were included in the study.
The severity of acne scars was determined by using Goodman and Baron global quantitative
acne scar grading system (GBGQASGS). Patients with grade 3 and 4 were eligible for the
study. All patients underwent 4sessions of dermapen microneedling treatment at six-week
intervals.
Results: The studied individuals consisted of 15 (60%) patients with Grade 3, and 10 (40%)
patients with Grade 4 acne scars. The results revealed that 12% of the patients had minimal
improvement, 48% had a moderate improvement, 40% had good improvement and no patients
showed excellent improvement according to GBGQASGS. The mean ± SD of GBGQASGS
was reduced from 16.39±3.43 to 7.78±2.79 at the end of sessions (p-value <0.0001). The
results showed an inverse relationship between the baseline severity score and the degree of
improvement of acne scars. The effect of dermapen© on acne scars showed the largest effect
on the depth of scar (Cohen d =1.53), then on number of scar (Cohen d =1.37), and lastly on
size of the scar (Cohen d =1.26). No serious post treatment complications were reported.
Conclusion: Dermapen© microneedling therapy can be used for the treatment of atrophic
acne scars, but it is not the treatment of choice in severe form of acne scars.