Background and Objectives: Recently, few reports have shown the benefits of CO2 laser application in non-ablative manner to reduce pain in oral aphthous ulcers. As we know this is the first clinical trial to evaluate the analgesic effect of a single-session of Non-Ablative, CO2 Laser Therapy (NACLT) in painful oral lesions of pemphigus vulgaris (PV).
Study Design/Materials and Methods: Ten patients with 38 painful oral lesions of PV completed the study. Their oral lesions were irradiated with CO2 laser (1 W of power in de-focused continuous mode) through a layer of transparent, non-anesthetic gel with high water content. The patients graded and recorded the idiopathic (non-contact) and contact pain severity of their lesions on a visual analogue scale (VAS) up to 7 days post operatively.
Results: The means of the baseline VAS pain scores for idiopathic and contact pain of the lesions were 4.3±1.6 and 7.7±1.7 respectively. Immediately after laser treatment, the scores for idiopathic and contact pain decreased dramatically to zero in nearly all patients (p<0.001). The procedure itself was painless and anesthesia was not required. There was no visual effect of damage to the oral mucosa.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that a single session of NACLT could reduce pain in oral lesions of PV immediately and dramatically, without visible side effects such as ablation, erosion formation and even erythema.