Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to document the treatment outcomes of African patients treated with low-intensity electrodesiccation for DPN's. Other treatment options for DPN's include snip excision, light curettage, cryotherapy, and lasers devices such as PDL, Nd: YAG, KTP, and CO2, which are generally unsafe for darker skin types and come with high costs. METHODS: Nonprobability convenience sampling of patient records was used to extract retrospective data on demographics and treatment outcomes according to the inclusion criteria. The retrospective data analysis included chi-squared tests for associations, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and logistic regression analysis to examine relationships between dependent and independent variables. RESULTS: A total of 137 patients were included in the study, with the majority being female (n = 129; 94.16%) compared with their male counterparts (n = 8; 5.84%). Most patients were under 40 years of age (n = 74; 54.00%), whereas the remaining were above 40 years of age (n = 63; 46.00%). The majority of patients had Fitzpatrick skin type V (n = 99; 72.26%). Adverse events such as milia (n = 4) and scarring (n = 2) were observed, but these were not associated with age, sex, or survival rate (p value > 0.05). LIMITATIONS: The study was conducted at a single center, which limits the ability to generalize the results. CONCLUSION: The low-intensity electrodesiccation technique was found to be a safe and cost-effective method for treating DPN's in African patients.