ArticleLasers in medical science2026
Overcoming therapeutic resistance in cutaneous dermatophytosis using ablative fractional laser-assisted delivery of topical antifungals.
Article in Lasers in medical science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dermatophytosis, a contagious fungal infection affecting the skin and nails, is increasingly associated with resistance to oral antifungal medications. Laser-assisted drug delivery is a modern therapeutic approach that has shown promising results in various dermatologic conditions, including onychomycosis. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of laser-assisted drug delivery in treating refractory cutaneous dermatophyte infections. This case series included five patients with confirmed refractory cutaneous dermatophytosis, unresponsive to oral antifungal treatment for at least six months. Patients were treated at the dermatology clinic of a medical center hospital between June 2024 and March 2025 with three monthly sessions of ablative fractional laser therapy combined with topical application of clotrimazole and terbinafine creams. Clinical outcomes were assessed using a dermatologist-evaluated improvement score based on standardized photographs: worsened (-1), no change (0), slight improvement (1), moderate improvement (2), and significant improvement (3). Patient satisfaction with the treatment was recorded, along with treatment tolerability and any adverse effects. A total of five patients (mean age [range], 46.2 [39-57] years; male-to-female ratio, 2:3) were enrolled. All patients had previously been treated with various oral antifungal therapies, including fluconazole, terbinafine, itraconazole, and voriconazole, without achieving a clinical response after at least six months of treatment. LADD sessions ranged from 1 to 3, and the follow-up period was 1 to 6 months. The highest clinical response (3) was observed in all five patients, with dramatic improvement in pruritus and high patient satisfaction. The evaluation score was 3 in all patients, indicating significant improvement. The procedure was well tolerated, and no serious side effects were reported. The findings of this case series suggest that laser-assisted drug delivery may be a suitable and effective treatment option for dermatophyte infections that are resistant to oral antifungal therapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.