Efficacy and safety of Q-switched lasers for the treatment of naevus of Ota in children: a retrospective analysis

To identify factors influencing the efficacy of Q-switched laser in the treatment of naevus of Ota in children and to compare the efficacy, safety, and recurrence rate between 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (QSNL) and 755 nm Q-switched alexandrite laser (QSAL). We retrospectively analysed 160 children with naevus of Ota who completed QSAL or QSNL laser treatment at our centre. Age at initial treatment ( P = 0.004), colour of lesions ( P = 0.025), and number of treatments ( P = 0.002) were related to efficacy. Compared with patients aged 0–11 months at initial treatment, patients who started treatment at 1–3 years (OR adj = 0.47), 4–8 years (OR adj = 0.20), and 9–12 years (OR adj = 0.27) had inferior efficacy. The efficacy of brown-violet (OR adj = 2.67) and blue-violet lesions (OR adj = 2.51) was better than that of brown lesions. Moreover, patients who received 3–4 (OR adj = 2.83) or 5–6 (OR adj = 7.35) treatment sessions showed a better response than those who received 1–2 sessions. Additionally, as the age at initial treatment increased, the rate of complications increased from 2.0 to 14.3%, while the recurrence rate decreased from 8.2 to 0%. In addition, the complication rate increased with an increase in the number of treatments. There were no significant differences in clinical efficacy ( P = 0.94), risk of complications ( P = 0.752), or recurrence ( P = 0.834) between QSAL and QSNL for treating naevus of Ota in children. QSAL and QSNL are equally effective for children’s naevus of Ota, with low complications and recurrence rates. Younger age at initial treatment and a greater number of treatments are beneficial for efficacy, whereas brown lesions are a negative factor.