Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34566356›Full record

ArticleJournal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery

A Pilot Study to Compare Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety of Combined Treatment of Skin Microneedling and Depigmenting Cream versus Depigmenting Cream Alone in Facial Melasma at Tertiary Care Center.

Sanjay S Bosamiya, Sonal M Jain

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review of Applications of Microneedling in Melasma.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sanjay S BosamiyaDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy, Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER), Surat, Gujarat, India.
Sonal M JainDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy, Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER), Surat, Gujarat, India.
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology Surat · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMelasma is a commonly acquired, chronic, and relapsing disorder that results in symmetrical, brownish facial pigmentation. It is more common in women than in men, which generally starts between 20 and 40 years of age, and it can lead to considerable embarrassment and distress. Managing melasma is a difficult challenge that requires long-term treatment with a number of topical agents. Microneedling has been described as a new technique to enhance the drug's transdermal penetration, and has also been reported to result in sustained long-term improvement of recalcitrant melasma.

aimThe aim of this article was to compare the therapeutic efficacy and safety of combined treatment of skin microneedling and depigmenting cream versus depigmenting cream alone in the treatment of melasma. MATERIALS AND

methodsA prospective study was conducted with a sample size of 40 patients, with twenty in each of the treatment arms; 20 patients were treated with combined skin needling and depigmenting cream and 20 with depigmenting cream alone. The outcome was evaluated periodically for up to 2 months using the modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) score.

resultsSignificant reduction was observed in modified MASI score in the combined treatment, with

conclusionCombining microneedling with Kligman's regimen gives better results in melasma treatment compared to topical treatment alone.

Indexed as

DermarollerIndexmelasmamodified Kligman’s regimenmodified Melasma Area andSeverity

Identifiers

PMID34566356
PMCPMC8423208
OpenAlexW3191643696

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.