Long-term effects of pulsed high-intensity laser therapy in the treatment of post-burn pruritus: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study

A.A. Ebid, A.R. Ibrahim, M. T. Omar, A.A. El Baky
Lasers in Medical Science, 2017

We assessed the long-term e ects of pulsed high intensity laser therapy (HILT) in post-burn pruritus treatment. A total of 49 adult burn patients with mean age of 31.53 ± 10.14 years participated, with 24 patients randomly assigned to the active laser group (ALG) and 25 in the placebo laser group (PLG). The ALG received HILT three times per week for 6 weeks, while the PLG received placebo HILT. Both groups received 10-mg cetirizine tablets twice daily and 10 mg at bedtime. All patients were advised to massage their burn scars with coconut oil for 5 min four times daily. The outcomes measured were the itch severity scale (ISS), impairment of pruritus-related quality o ife (QoL), pain level by the visual analog scale (VAS), hand grip strength by handheld dynamometer, and daily cetirizine intake. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the baseline and post-treatment measurements and after 12 weeks o follow up. Statistical signi cance was set atP< 0.05. ISS decreased signi cantly in the ALG after 6 weeks of treatment and after 12 weeks of follow-up compared with the PLG. The QoL results showed a signi cant improvement in the ALG compared with the PLG, which continued after 12 weeks. VAS results signi cantly decrease, hand grip strength signi cantly improved, and cetirizine intake signi cantly decreased posttreatment in the ALG relative to the PLG. HILT combined with cetirizine seems more ctive in patients with postburn pruritus than a placebo laser procedure with cetirizine.