Objective and subjective measurements of cutaneous inflammation after a novel hyaluronic acid injection.

Background: Hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers are commonly used to minimize the appearance of facial lines and wrinkles. However, after the injection of HA, there is normally a mild inflammatory reaction. All published studies to date have measured this unwanted side effect by subjective means only.

Objective: The primary objective was to determine the magnitude and duration of the inflammation induced by injection of a novel HA using objective and subjective means.

Materials And Methods: The study was an open study in 25 normal volunteer subjects. All subjects had a single injection and were assessed objectively using an erythema meter and infrared thermometer and subjectively using established clinical scales.

Results: The erythema meter and the infrared thermometer objectively measured the mild cutaneous inflammation, which was transitory in nature. These objective measurements correlated well with the subjective clinical scores.

Conclusions: The results of this study show that the erythema meter and the infrared thermometer are effective tools to objectively measure mild inflammation post-HA injection.