title: A comparative pilot study of symptom improvement before and after phototherapy in Korean patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.
abstract: Although allergic rhinitis is not life threatening, it significantly influences the quality of a patient's life. This study is intended to evaluate the safety and efficacy of phototherapy with low-level energy of a 650 nm laser irradiation system in perennial allergic rhinitis patients. This clinical trial was an open-label, single-center study with 42 perennial allergic rhinitis subjects. Following laser irradiation in the nasal cavity with a laser irradiation system, the efficacy at weeks 1 through 4 was determined. The symptoms were scored with four parameters (nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing and itching) before and after illumination of the laser, and the total score was recorded. A survey of Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) was conducted by patients before and after treatment. Following treatment, significant improvement in the clinical symptoms of nasal obstruction (P < 0.001), rhinorrhea (P = 0.005), sneezing (P = 0.001) and itching (P = 0.003) was reported by 68% of perennial allergic rhinitis patients. The overall RQLQ scores significantly improved by 45% from the baseline with the treatment after 4 weeks. These results indicate that phototherapy is an effective modality for treating perennial allergic rhinitis and is another option in the steroid-free management of immune-mediated mucosal diseases.
authors.affiliation: Medical Devices Clinical Trial Center, Guro Hospital, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Heung-Man
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Man Sik
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Il Ho
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seung Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seong Keon
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyu-Sung
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyuk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000503:physiopathology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011537:Pruritus / Q000503:physiopathology; D011788:Quality of Life; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012912:Sneezing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome