Results
A total of 21 patients with persistent or recurrent IGM lesions used SJW oil after completion of the standard treatment protocol. All patients were women, and the mean age was 36.6 years (range, 21-52). Most of them (n=19, 90.4%) were in the reproductive age (mean 32.4 years; range 21-42, p<0.001). Sixteen had a lactation history over one year (76.1%, p<0.001). Four patients were nulliparous (19%) and all others (80.9%) had at least one child (mean, 3 children, range 1-7, p<0.001). Nineteen percent of the patients had a history of oral contraceptive use (n=4), and another three were using antidepressants (14.2%). Two patients had controlled diabetes mellitus and four had a smoking history (9.5% and 19%, respectively). There was no endocrinologic or autoimmune diseases, except thyroid disorders in two patients (9.5%).
Physical examination revealed persistent hyperemia/erythema (n=21, 100%), scaling (n=13, 61.9%), induration (n=11, 52.3%) and fissure/ulcer (n=6, 28.5%). Distributions of the lesions according to the degree of severity are summarized in Table 2. Mild, moderate and severe symptoms were seen in 35.2%, 41.1% and 23.5%, respectively. Upper outer quadrant was the most common localization (n=8, 38%) followed by upper inner (n=5, 23.8%), lower inner (n=4, 19% ) and lower outer (n=4, 19%) quadrants. Post-treatment severity scores are shown in Table 3. When compared with pre-treatment severity scores, there were very significant regression in all (clear, 76.4%, mild, 17.6%, moderate 3.9%, severe 1.9%, p<0.001 for each). The overall success rate (total clearance plus mild signs) of treatment was 94.1%. Images of patients before and after treatment are shown in Figures 1 and 2.
The survey results revealed that all patients applied SJW topically as instructed (100%). There was no important side effect, except burning sensations (n=2, 9.5%). All patients were satisfied with the treatment (100%).