Phototherapy for allergic rhinitis: a prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study.
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.
Cingi
Cemal
C
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskisehir, Turkey.
Cakli
Hamdi
H
Yaz
Aytekin
A
Songu
Murat
M
Bal
Cengiz
C
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