ArticleCureus2026
Patient-Reported Outcomes With Episoft® AC SPF 50+, a Ceramide-Based Moisturizer, in Acne-Related Post-procedural Care: A Real-World Multicenter Observational Study From India (PROCEED Study).
Article in Cureus, 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
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPost-procedural skin barrier disruption following acne-related dermatological procedures causes significant patient discomfort and heightens ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity. Ceramide-based formulations with broad-spectrum photoprotection can address barrier repair and sun protection factor (SPF) in a single step. However, patient-reported evidence supporting their use in this setting is still limited.
methodsA retrospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted across 477 dermatology centers in India after ethics approval. Patients aged 18-45 years prescribed Episoft® AC SPF 50+ (a ceramide-based moisturizer with broad-spectrum SPF 50+ photoprotection; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, Mumbai, India) for at least seven days following acne-related dermatological procedures were included. Post-procedural skin barrier disruption was classified into four levels (none/minimal, mild, moderate, severe) based on procedure type. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were assessed at Day 7 using 10-point numeric scales. Primary endpoints were reduction in dryness and burning/stinging sensation. Secondary endpoints were reduction in skin itching, reduction in skin redness, soothing effect, acne worsening, overall satisfaction, willingness to continue use, and willingness for future procedures. Improvement responses were categorized as complete (9-10), moderate (6-8), mild (3-5), or none (1-2). Acne worsening used a reversed scale, in which a score of 1-2 indicated no/minimal worsening (favorable).
resultsA total of 2,066 patients (55.3% (n = 1,143) female; modal age group 26-30 years, 42.7% (n = 882)) were enrolled. The top three procedures were chemical peel (56.7%; n = 1,172), Q-switched laser toning (10.9%; n = 226), and microneedling (8.9%; n = 183). Barrier disruption was predominantly moderate (56.7%; n = 1,172), with severe disruption in 10.8% (n = 223). On Day 7, complete improvement was reported by 61.2% (n = 1,265) for dryness (mean ± SD: 8.64 ± 1.14) and 58.6% (n = 1,210) for burning/stinging (mean ± SD: 8.63 ± 1.14). Complete improvement rates for secondary endpoints were skin itching 61.4% (n = 1,268), skin redness 62.1% (n = 1,283), and soothing effect 61.2% (n = 1,264). Overall extreme satisfaction was reported by 62.6% (n = 1,293), willingness to continue use by 65.6% (n = 1,356), and willingness for future procedures by 67.2% (n = 1,388). No worsening of acne was reported by 67.9% (n = 1,403) of patients. There were no adverse events reported during the study.
conclusionIn this large, real-world multicenter study, Episoft® AC SPF 50+, a ceramide-based moisturizer with SPF 50+, was associated with substantial patient-reported symptom relief, high satisfaction, and minimal acne worsening across diverse acne-related dermatological procedures and barrier severity levels, along with an excellent safety profile. These findings, together with emerging patient-reported outcome-based evidence for combined moisturizer-plus-SPF products, support routine inclusion of ceramide-based SPF 50+ moisturization in post-procedural skincare regimens for acne-related procedures.
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.