High-power laser photobiomodulation therapy effective for pain relief in refractory oral mucositis patients

Researchers aimed to evaluate the efficacy of high-power (class IV) laser photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy for immediate pain relief due to oral mucositis (OM) refractory to recommended first-line therapy.

This retrospective study included 25 cancer patients with refractory chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-induced OM (16 and 9 patients, respectively) that were treated for pain relief with an intraoral InGaAsP diode laser (power density = 1.4 W/cm2). Pain was self-assessed immediately before and after laser treatment using a 0-to-10 numeric rating scale ([NRS], “0” = no pain, “10” = intolerable pain).

Results

Patients reported an immediate decrease in pain following 94% (74 of 79) of the PBM sessions, in 61% (48 sessions) the pain reduction was over 50%, and in 35% (28 sessions) the initial pain was completely eliminated. There were no reports of increased pain post-PBM. For chemotherapy and radiotherapy-treated patients, mean reduction in pain NRS post-PBM was 4.8 ± 2.5 (p < 0.001) and 4.5 ± 2.8 (p = 0.001), indicating a post-PBM reduction of 72% and 60% of the initial pain level, respectively. The analgesic benefit of PBM remained for a mean of 6.0 ± 5.1 days. One patient reported a transient burning sensation after one PBM session.

High-power laser PBM may provide nonpharmacologic, patient-friendly, long-lasting, rapid pain relief for refractory OM.

Reference:

Finfter, O., Cohen, R., Hanut, A., Gavish, L., & Zadik, Y. (2023). High-power laser photobiomodulation therapy for immediate pain relief of refractory oral mucositis. Oral Diseases, 00, 1– 8. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.14618

Keywords:

High-power, laser, photobiomodulation, therapy, effective, pain, relief, refractory, oral, mucositis, patients, Oral Diseases, Finfter, O., Cohen, R., Hanut, A., Gavish, L., & Zadik, Y.