Abstract
The present study reports on 25 patients with multiple drug resistant chronic pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-PTB), comprising of 13 males and 12 females. Intravenous (IV) helium neon (HeNe) and/or nitrogen (N2) laser therapy was administered together with intracavitary (IC) N2 laser therapy. Ten sittings of IV laser therapy were given on alternate days or weekly according to the protocol and N2 laser IC irradiation was administered weekly for a period of 3 months, and monthly thereafter for another three months. Patients were followed up for 3 to 6 months post-therapy. All the patients included in the study were hospitalized during the therapy and continued to receive chemotherapy concomitantly with the LLLT. Of the 25 patients included in this study, five were lost to follow up. Clinical and bacteriological improvement was seen in 14 (70%) and 15 (75%) of the patients, respectively, while haematological and radiological improvement was observed in 14 (70%) and 17 (85%) of the patients, respectively. No major side effects were noted. Two patients developed pneumothorax and three had haemoptysis after the procedure, which did not pose a problem. There was no mortality. It can therefore be concluded from this preliminary clinical trial that intravenous and intracavitary laser therapy acts as a useful adjuvant to chemotherapy in the treatment of MDR-PTB, and that there is a strong possibility that LLLT on its own may well be very usefu1 in the therapy of new, untreated cases of PTB.
