Noninvasive objective skin measurement methods for rosacea assessment: a systematic review.

This systematic review describes the spectrum of noninvasive imaging and biophysical methods in rosacea assessment, giving multifaceted information about structure and properties of rosacea skin, especially useful for research purposes. Larger studies with good methodological quality are needed to create validated protocols for further implementation into research. What's already known about this topic? Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a variety of clinical manifestations. Most clinical evaluation systems are subjective, not always validated, and subsurface skin processes remain unnoticed. Currently, different types of noninvasive measurement tools are available for rosacea assessment and therapy monitoring, but a comprehensive overview is lacking. What does this study add? Seventy-eight publications were included, describing 14 imaging and biophysical tools, providing a wide range of information about rosacea skin morphology and functionality. Reflectance confocal microscopy and spectrometry are especially promising in therapy monitoring and skin barrier measurements for rosacea severity assessment. Larger studies with better methodological quality are needed to create validated protocols for implementation into research.