The effect of LongoVital on recurrent aphthous stomatitis in a controlled clinical trial.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of daily intake of LongoVital (LV) (herbal vitamin tablets) in the prevention of RAS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A group of 78 consecutively referred patients was enrolled to a three-months pretreatment period. Fifty subjects were then randomly allocated to an LV-group (n = 25) or a placebo group (N = 25). A double blind, stratified-randomised clinical case-control study was performed during six months. Number and size of the ulcers were registered by the patients using a standardized chart. The degree of discomfort was recorded on a 100 mm horizontal visual analogue scale (VAS-scale).

RESULTS

The three-months pretreatment period revealed that the most dominant symptoms were pain (78%) followed by burning sensation (18%). No significant differences between the two groups were found during this period when a comparison was made at the end of the study. After the intervention period the number of aphthous ulcers/month decreased significantly in the LV-group (p = 0.02). The number of days in pain/month were also reduced (p < 0.001). If a 50% reduction of number of aphthous ulcers and days in pain were considered as clinically relevant, no statistical significant differences were found between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Thus, no strong evidence was found that justified a recommendation of LV as a general drug for treatment of RAS.