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Pain management in photodynamic therapy using a nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture: a prospective, within‐patient, controlled clinical trial
Author(s) -
Fink C.,
Uhlmann L.,
Enk A.,
Gholam P.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/jdv.13788
Subject(s) - medicine , nitrous oxide , photodynamic therapy , anesthesia , adverse effect , oxygen therapy , clinical trial , prospective cohort study , randomized controlled trial , oxygen , patient satisfaction , surgery , chemistry , organic chemistry
Background Photodynamic therapy is an effective treatment for actinic keratoses. Nevertheless, severe pain during the procedure is a serious adverse effect, which leads to interruption or even termination. Complete pain relief remains a difficult challenge. Objective To evaluate the effect of a nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture on pain intensity during photodynamic therapy. Methods This clinical trial has been designed as a prospective, single‐centre, explorative, controlled, observational study. Results We were able to detect a significant overall pain reduction of 55.2% after application of a nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture by means of an intra‐individual comparison. Furthermore, the total number of therapy interruption significantly decreased by 82% after the inhalation analgesia. Additionally, treatment satisfaction ranged from ‘extremely to very satisfied’. Conclusions This study shows that analgesia by means of a nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture is a very effective and well‐tolerated method for achieving significant pain reduction during photodynamic therapy.