title: Phototherapy for allergic rhinitis: a prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Phototherapy has a profound immunosuppressive effect, and phototherapeutic methods using both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light are therefore widely used for the therapy of various inflammatory skin diseases. It is also proposed that phototherapy, using a combination of UV-A (25%), UV-B (5%) and visible light (70%), may represent a therapeutic alternative in patients with allergic rhinitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-nine patients were randomly assigned to receive either a combination of UV-A (25%), UV-B (5%) and visible light (70%), in the phototherapy group, or low-intensity visible light, in the control group. The efficacy of treatment was assessed by means of total nasal symptom score before treatment and 1 month after the end of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total nasal scores decreased in both groups but the decrease was highly significant in the active treatment group when compared with the placebo (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that phototherapy may be an effective modality in the treatment of allergic rhinitis especially in cases of which commonly used drugs either are contraindicated and/or have insufficient efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cingi
authors.forename: Hamdi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cakli
authors.forename: Aytekin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yaz
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Songu
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bal
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000628:therapy*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000628:therapy*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy / Q000379:methods