Table 5.

Summary of advanced treatments for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation in SoC based on recent studies.

Author	Study Type	Year	Laser	Therapy Parameters	Fitzpatrick Scale	No. of Cases	Clinical Outcome	Adverse Events
Bae et al. [52]	Retrospective photographic analysis	2020	Non-ablative fractional 1927 nm laser	Low energy, low-density parameters (fluence 5 mJ, spot size 140 μm, depth 170  μm, 5% coverage)	IV–VI	61	A mean improvement of 43.24% was assessed by two independent dermatologists, and there was a statistically significant correlation between the raters.	No side effects reported.
Li et al. [50]	Prospective interventional study	2018	Intense pulsed light	Wavelength 560–615 nm, 2–6 treatments over 3–5 weeks	III–IV	35	IPL significantly lessened PIH as per physician assessment with an 82.9% satisfaction rate	No post-treatment complications
Kasai et al. [45]	Retrospective case series	2017	Fractionated 755 nm Alexandrite ps-laser	8 mm spot, fluence 0.4 J/cm2, 750-ps, 10 Hz, 3 sessions at 1- or 2-month intervals	III	1	At the 3-year follow-up, the PIH lesions had a 50–75% improvement	Deepening of local skin lesions