Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36895715›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2023

Efficacy of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of port wine stains: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ling Wang, Lei Li, Chao Huang

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. EndothelialFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025
    Article
  5. Port Wine Birthmark Therapy: A New Direction.Lasers in surgery and medicine · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
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

3 authors.

Ling WangDepartment of Stomatology, Hospital of Chengdu Office of People's Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region (Hospital.C.T.), Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Lei LiThe Clinic of Li Hongjun, Mianyang, Sichuan, China.
Chao HuangDepartment of Orthopedics, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Port wine stains (PWS) often cause cosmetic effects and psychological distress. Pulsed dye lasers (PDL) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are the most commonly used treatments. PDL is still the "gold standard" of therapy to date. However, its shortcomings have become apparent as clinical applications have increased. PDT has been proven as an alternative to PDL. Patients with PWS still lack enough evidence about PDT to make informed treatment decisions. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the safety and effectiveness of PDT for PWS. Methods: The online datasets, comprising PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, were searched for meta-analysis-relevant publications. Two reviewers separately evaluated the risk of bias in each listed study. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to assess the treatment and safety outcomes. Results: Our search retrieved 740 hits and only 26 studies were finally included. Among the 26 studies included, 3 were randomized clinical trials, and 23 were prospective or retrospective cohort investigations. Based on a gathered assessment, the percentage of individuals achieving a 60% improvement was estimated to be 51.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 38.7-64.1; Conclusion: Photodynamic therapy is recommended as a safe and effective treatment for PWS based on the current evidence. However, our findings are based on poor-quality evidence. Therefore, comparative investigations of a large scale and high quality are necessary to support this conclusion.

Indexed as

capillary malformationsclinical assessmentclinimetric studyphotodynamic therapyport wine stains

Identifiers

PMID36895715
PMCPMC9988944

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.