Efficacy and Safety of Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Assisted Therapy for Herpes Zoster: A Randomized, Parallel, Positive-Controlled, Non-inferiority Multicenter Clinical Trial.
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: There is growing evidence that cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) can boost skin wound healing and inhibit various viruses. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of CAP as an adjunct treatment for herpes zoster (HZ). We hypothesized that CAP was similar to or better than the helium-neon (He-Ne) laser in promoting HZ wound and pain recovery.
Methods: We recruited 187 patients with acute HZ who received either CAP once per day for at least 2 min per treatment area or He-Ne laser therapy once per day for 20 min per session, in addition to a standard treatment regime. The primary endpoint was the efficacy rate, defined as the percentage of patients in each group whose treated area exhibited drying of blisters in ≥ 50% of the area after the final treatment. Secondary evaluation indicators included treatment duration (in days), onset time of scabbing, scab rate, visual analog scale pain scores, and quality of life scores.
Results: Efficacy rates after the last treatment were not significantly different between the CAP and He-Ne laser groups (at 3 ± 1 and 10 ± 2 days after the last treatment, respectively, p > 0.05). Treatment duration, scab formation onset time, and complete scab formation time were shorter in the CAP group than in the He-Ne laser group. No severe adverse events or reactions occurred in the CAP group.
Conclusion: CAP is an effective and safe therapeutic option for HZ.
Trial registration: This study has been registered at www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2300069993). A graphical abstract is available for this article.
期刊介绍:
Dermatology and Therapy is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, rapid publication journal (peer review in 2 weeks, published 3–4 weeks from acceptance). The journal is dedicated to the publication of high-quality clinical (all phases), observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of dermatological therapies. Studies relating to diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health and epidemiology, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged.
Areas of focus include, but are not limited to all clinical aspects of dermatology, such as skin pharmacology; skin development and aging; prevention, diagnosis, and management of skin disorders and melanomas; research into dermal structures and pathology; and all areas of aesthetic dermatology, including skin maintenance, dermatological surgery, and lasers.
The journal is of interest to a broad audience of pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals and publishes original research, reviews, case reports/case series, trial protocols, and short communications. Dermatology and Therapy will consider all scientifically sound research be it positive, confirmatory or negative data. Submissions are welcomed whether they relate to an International and/or a country-specific audience, something that is crucially important when researchers are trying to target more specific patient populations. This inclusive approach allows the journal to assist in the dissemination of quality research, which may be considered of insufficient interest by other journals. The journal appeals to a global audience and receives submissions from all over the world.