Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of halometasone in the treatment of erythema induced by Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL) irradiation for port wine stain (PWS). Methods: A total of 40 patients with PWS were enrolled in this study and randomly assigned into two regimens: PDL+Vaseline and PDL+halometasone. All patients were given a single treatment of PDL with a 595nm wavelength, 8.0-13.5 J/cm2, 1.5 milliseconds pulse duration and 7mm spot size. The patients in the PDL+halometasone group received topical halometasone for 1 day.and were followed-up at day 3, 7 and one month. Results: The erythema scores were 0.4±0.82 and 0.9±0.91 in the treatment group and control group respectively. The scab scores were 1.15±0.77 and 1.65±1.22 in the treatment group and control group respectively. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). The duration of erythema lasted for 3.7±8.11/days and 7.3±10.49/days in the treatment group and control group, with a significant difference in the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Topical halometasone can significantly reduce acute inflammatory reactions induced by PDL for the treatment of PWS.

Key words: Port Wine Stain, Pulsed Dye Laser, halometasone, adverse effects