A May 2022 study published in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine found that high-frequency ultrasonography (HF-USG) and power doppler (PD) equipped with semi-quantitative analysis software can assess acne vulgaris quantitatively, providing an effective basis for the classification and treatment of acne.
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The study, led by Xuanyin Wu, M.M, and Tian'an Jiang, M.D., Ph.D., evaluated the severest acne vulgaris lesions on 105 patients referred by a dermatologist. Patients were categorized into four groups: comedones, papules, pustules and nodules/cysts. Gray-scale ultrasound was used to assess the thickness of the lesion and PD equipped with Qpack semi-quantitative analysis software was used to assess blood signals of the lesion. Ten level-4 acne patients were re-evaluated after two weeks of treatment.
Per the report, researchers observed significant differences in thickness ratio (P < .001), Qpack ratio (P < .001) and Qpack peak (P < .001) among the four groups. Of the level-4 patients re-evaluated after two weeks, there was no significant difference in thickness ratio (P = .06), but Qpack ratio and Qpack peak were significantly decreased between pre-treatment and post-treatment (both P = .01).
