1996 年 8 巻 2 号 p. 159-164
In the period of approximately 11 years between 1985 and 1995 64 patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR) visited the Department of Anesthesia, Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital for treatment. From these 64 patients, 32 clinical cases were studied for the case history, type and severity of the AR, and the efficacy of stellate ganglion block (SGB, n=20) and laser irradiation over the stellate ganglion (SGL, n=12) was evaluated. Treatment sessions were limited to a maximum of 20 over a maximum treatment period of one month. The lasers used were GaAlAs diode systems (60 mW and 120 mW, irradiation times of 10 min and 7 min, respectively, applied in contact pressure mode to the area over the stellate ganglion). The mean overall efficacy rate, (excellent plus good results) based on the improvement calculated on the pretreatment clinical score, was 60% (12 patients) for the SGB group and 100% (12 patients) for the SGL Group. The mean number of treatment sessions for the SGB Group was 13.9 ± 7.1 sessions and 6.8 ± 2.6 for the SGL group. Thus a better efficacy was obtained in the SGL group in a shorter period with fewer treatment sessions required compared to the SGB group. SGL using the GaAlAs diode laser at the parameters used in the present study was therefore concluded to be effective as a therapy for allergic rhinitis, and offers the additional advantages of being painless and easy to apply, side effect free and well-tolerated by all ages of patient.
