Primary axillary hyperhidrosis patients treated with microwave-based therapy gave the treatment high marks, according to a prospective survey presented yesterday at the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery 2015 annual conference in Kissimmee, Fla.
Chicago dermatologist Carolyn Jacob, M.D., shared results from a long-term registry follow-up of patients who had received treatment with MiraDry (Miramar Labs) microwave-based technology for axillary hyperhidrosis. MiraDry is the only FDA-approved microwave device for the condition.
“Hyperhidrosis is a really prevalent problem. When studied, at least in the U.S., they found that 4% of people polled actually had the classification that would equate to primary axillary hyperhidrosis and another 17% of people were ‘sweat bothered,’” Dr. Jacob says.1
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“This really wasn’t brought to light before because there wasn’t a good treatment. Once there’s a treatment that works well, people come out of the woodwork to see you. We probably see at least five people a week in my office that complain of hyperhidrosis either as a primary or secondary issue. And that’s for severe people — not bothered people.”
Dr. Jacob’s practice was among nine U.S. centers taking part in the study, which includes 110 patients who completed a web-based registry. The survey was done before treatment and 6 months after. Most patients had two treatments with the microwave device, done at 3-month intervals. That’s typically the number of treatments required for people with primary axillary hyperhidrosis, according to Dr. Jacob.
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Patients were asked to assess their condition before and after treatment using the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale, which goes from one (best) to four, where sweating is intolerable and always interferes with daily activities. The survey also asked patients to indicate their sweat and odor scores on a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 being the most bothered. Finally, patients indicated their satisfaction with the procedure by reporting they were very dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, neutral, somewhat satisfied and very satisfied.
The researchers found:
- 85% of patients were very or somewhat satisfied with treatment.
- Average sweat scores went from 8.5 on a 10-point scale to 3.0, and average odor scores went from 5.2 on a 10-point scale to 1.9.
- 88% (97 of 110) dropped from a three or four on the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale to a one or two.
“Interestingly, that’s what they found in the original study for the device to get FDA approval: about 89 percent went from a 3 or 4 to a 1 or 2,” Dr. Jacob says.
“Hyperhidrosis is something that we’re trained to treat and meant to treat, and now we have a really great option for at least primary axillary hyperhidrosis,” Dr. Jacob says. “I think it’s important to let patients know that they can be treated, and they don’t have to suffer.”
Dr. Jacob reports no relevant disclosures.
Reference:
1. November 2009 Ipsos Vantis Market Study: clinical segment clinically diagnosed, sweat-bothered score >7 on 10-point scale. Over 3,000 subjects screened to identify prevalence of underarm sweat-impacted consumers across the U.S.
