The prevention and treatment of pathological scars remain challenging. Corticosteroids are the mainstay drugs in clinical scar prevention and treatment as they effectively induce scar regression and improve scar pruritus and pain. Currently, intralesional injections of corticosteroids are widely used in clinical practice. These require professional medical manipulation; however, the significant accompanying injection pain, repetition of injections and adverse effects, such as skin atrophy, skin pigmentation and telangiectasia, make this treatment modality an unpleasant experience for patients. Transdermal administration is, therefore, a promising non-invasive and easy-to-use method for corticosteroid administration for scar treatment. In this review, we first summarize the mechanisms of action of corticosteroids in scar prevention and treatment; then, we discuss current developments in intralesional injections and the progress of transdermal delivery systems of corticosteroids, as well as their corresponding advantages and disadvantages.

中文翻译：

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皮质类固醇在病理性疤痕预防和治疗中的应用：当前回顾和更新

病理性疤痕的预防和治疗仍然具有挑战性。皮质类固醇是临床瘢痕防治的主要药物，可有效诱导瘢痕消退，改善瘢痕瘙痒和疼痛。目前，病灶内注射皮质类固醇已广泛应用于临床实践。这些都需要专业的医疗操作；然而，显着的伴随注射疼痛、重复注射和副作用，例如皮肤萎缩、皮肤色素沉着和毛细血管扩张，使这种治疗方式对患者来说是一种不愉快的体验。因此，透皮给药是一种很有前途的非侵入性和易于使用的皮质类固醇给药方法，用于疤痕治疗。在这篇综述中，我们首先总结了皮质类固醇在疤痕预防和治疗中的作用机制；