Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mili-Fire Needle, and Light-Emitting Diode Phototherapy for Cystic Acne and Post-Acne Sequelae

Outcomes were assessed at baseline, after three treatment courses, and after six treatment courses. A post-treatment responder follow-up cohort included only patients who achieved cure or marked improvement and therefore did not preserve the original randomized comparison. Both regimens reduced Global Acne Grading System scores, lesion counts, and Acne Disability Index scores; between-group values favored the integrated-regimen group after three and six courses.

The cure-plus-marked-response proportions were 46.67% in the control group and 76.67% in the treatment group; the ordinal clinical-response distribution differed between groups, whereas adverse-event rates did not differ significantly. In the selected responder cohort, the treatment group had lower acne scar, Vancouver Scar Scale, and imaging-based erythema scores during months 1–3. The randomized short-term findings support further evaluation of the integrated regimen, while the responder-only follow-up findings should be considered exploratory and require confirmation in studies that follow the full randomized cohort.</p>