Pain management in photodynamic therapy / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT),a highly effective,safe and non-invasive therapeutic method,exerts good therapeutic effects on various diseases in dermatology,such as actinic keratosis,condyloma acuminatum,acne,and so on.The major drawback of PDT is pain during the treatment.Some patients have to interrupt or terminate the treatment because of pain intolerance.Some progress has been made in the management of PDT-related pain.It has been revealed that multiple factors are associated with PDT-related pain,including individual factors,lesion characteristics,therapeutic parameters (such as light sources,photosensitizers).Many methods can be used to manage PDT-related pain,including local cooling,oral analgesics,two-step irradiance protocol,topical anesthesia,injection anesthesia,inhalation anesthesia,transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation,hypnosis.