Efectividad del láser de baja potencia como terapia adyuvante en pacientes con herpes zóster / Effectiveness of the low power laser as adjuvant therapy in patients with zoster herpes

Introducción: El láser de baja potencia tiene un amplio uso en la práctica médica actual. Existe un gran número de pacientes con afecciones agudas o crónicas que pueden ser tratados con esta terapia, con resultados alentadores, muy superiores a los obtenidos con el uso de la terapéutica convencional. Objetivo: Evaluar la efectividad del láser de baja potencia como terapia adyuvante para reducir el tiempo de respuesta al alivio del dolor en pacientes con herpes zóster. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio cuasiexperimental, de intervención terapéutica, en 21 pacientes con herpes zóster, atendidos en el Servicio de Fisiatría del Policlínico del MININT de Santiago de Cuba, desde enero de 2016 hasta junio de 2017. Se conformaron 2 grupos de forma aleatoria: los integrantes del primero recibieron el tratamiento habitual con aciclovir, vitaminas y analgésico (control); los del segundo, aciclovir, vitaminas y laserterapia (intervención). Resultados: Se observó que en el grupo de intervención la intensidad del dolor fue disminuyendo en relación con la evaluación inicial. Así, en la quinta sesión se apreció mayor porcentaje de pacientes con alivio del dolor que en el grupo control, al igual que en la décima sesión y 21 días después, de ahí la efectividad del tratamiento. Conclusiones: Con el empleo del láser de baja potencia los pacientes con herpes zóster presentaron una mejoría del dolor en menor tiempo, con una respuesta satisfactoria expresada en la totalidad de ellos, por lo que se recomienda su utilización como terapia adyuvante.

Introduction: The low power laser has a wide use in the current medical practice. There is a great number of patients with acute or chronic conditions that can be treated with this therapy, with encouraging results, far better than those obtained with the use of conventional therapy. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of low power laser as adjuvant therapy to reduce the response time to pain relief in patients with zoster herpes. Methods: A quasi-experiment study of therapeutic intervention was carried out in 21 patients with zoster herpes. They were assisted in the Physical Medicine Service of the MININT Polyclinic in Santiago de Cuba, from January, 2016 to June, 2017. Two groups were conformed at random: the members of the first one received acyclovir, vitamins and lasertherapy (intervention); those of the second group received acyclovir, vitamins and analgesic (control). Results: It was observed that in the intervention group the intensity of the pain was diminishing in connection with the initial evaluation. This way, in the fifth session it was appreciated a higher percentage of patients with pain relief that in the control group, the same as in the tenth session and 21 days later, hence the effectiveness of the treatment. Conclusions: With the use of low power laser the patients with zoster herpes presented an improvement of the pain in less time, with a satisfactory response expressed in all of them, reason why its use is recommended as adjuvant therapy.

Clinical analysis of hematologic disorders complicated with herpes zoster after treating with arsenic trioxide / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To explore the increasing risk of herpes zoster and its possible mechanisms for hematologic disorders treated with arsenic trioxide (ATO). Methods The cases were divided into study group (with ATO) and control group (without ATO). The incidence rate of herpes zoster was compared between the two groups, and then the average cycles of chemotherapy were compared between the patients complicated with herpes zoster or not in study group. Results The rate of herpes zoster was significantly higher in study group than that in control group (χ2 =4.492, P =0.034). The rates of herpes zoster were 23.95 % (23/96) in study group and 7.89 % (3/38) in control groups. Patients in study group with herpes zoster had received 7.60 cycles and those without herpes zoster 7.72 cycles of chemotherapy on average (Z=0.976, P=0.296).Conclusion The risk of herpes zoster complication in hematologic disorders was increased after ATO treatment which probably activated varicella-zoster virus.