Graduate Program in Implantology, University of Santo Amaro, School of Dentistry. São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Study Group of Laser and Health Institute. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Study Group of Laser and Health Institute. São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, University of Vale do Paraíba, Research and Development Institute. São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil.
Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther. 2022 Mar;37:102643. doi: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2021.102643. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
Among the most common symptoms of COVID-19 is taste dysfunction, which has a ranging clinical presentation. As well as its pathophysiology remains to be unclear, there is not enough information about the efficacy and safety of the available treatments. This study aims to report a series of cases using PBMT for the management of COVID-19-related taste impairment.
8 female and 2 male patients sought medical help for taste impairment (either partially or completely) after COVID-19 infection. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) on the tongue mucosa was then proposed but with 3 different protocols. Taste perception at baseline and before every laser session was evaluated using a visual analog scale. Irrespective of the PBMT protocol, taste recovery was noted in all cases but with varying degrees of improvement.
given the high prevalence rates of taste dysfunction in COVID-19 patients and the lack of information about the available treatments, PBMT seems to be a promising therapeutic modality but not dependent on the total number of laser sessions and the interval between them. The choice of the most suitable laser protocol as well as the knowledge of the exact photonic mechanisms, however, need to be better studied.
在 COVID-19 最常见的症状中，味觉功能障碍的临床表现多种多样，但其病理生理学仍不清楚，关于现有治疗方法的疗效和安全性的信息也不足。本研究旨在报告一系列使用 PBMT 治疗 COVID-19 相关味觉障碍的病例。
8 名女性和 2 名男性患者在 COVID-19 感染后因味觉障碍（部分或完全）寻求医疗帮助。然后提出对舌黏膜进行光生物调节疗法（PBMT），但有 3 种不同的方案。使用视觉模拟量表在基线和每次激光治疗前评估味觉感知。无论采用何种 PBMT 方案，所有病例均观察到味觉恢复，但改善程度不同。
鉴于 COVID-19 患者味觉障碍的高患病率以及对现有治疗方法的信息不足，PBMT 似乎是一种很有前途的治疗方法，但与激光治疗的总次数和间隔无关。然而，需要更好地研究选择最合适的激光方案以及确切的光子机制知识。
