Near-Infrared Laser Treatment Safe and Effective for Chronic Rhinosinusitis

According to a report published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, the near-infrared laser illumination (NILI) is a safe and reliable technique to treat chronic rhinosinusitis, an inflammation of the nasal cavity. The laser procedure does not affect ciliary motility.

Drs. Victor Kizhner and Yosef P. Krespi at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in NYC performed a randomized trial and used positive CRS cultures on 23 post-surgical patients. Patients in GR2 were given indocyanine-green, a photo-activated (PA) agent, and then were treated with an 810 nm laser, while patients in GR1 received a 940 nm laser treatment. Treatment regimens were analyzed using saccharin study, nasal endoscopic scoring, cultures, quality-of-life scoring and the Sino-nasal Outcome Test 20 (SNOT20).

Study results indicated that both treatments offer enhanced clinical efficacy and did not show any major variation between the two treatment arms. Both treatments had minimal side effects and offered prolong therapeutic effect for 60 days. In fact, certain cultures that were used on the patients’ arms were positive throughout the therapy.

The SNOT20 scores improved significantly in both set of patients. The scores were 0.8 forGR2 and 0.9 for GR1, respectively. All GR2 subjects passed the saccharin test. They experienced minimal side effects and had improved CRS post the laser treatment.

The trial has demonstrated that the NILI, without or with photo-activated agents, was effective in CRS patients who did not respond to standard surgical and medical treatments.