Photobiomodulation as an adjuvant in the pharmacological treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Case report

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Trigeminal Neuralgia causes intense suffering and impaired quality of life. The diagnosis is clinical. Thermography has been proven to be a useful tool, both for confirming and monitoring this neuralgia. Photobiomodulation is being increasingly well documented, specially when associated with the first-choice therapy, which is pharmacotherapy. In this case report, the objective was to investigate the performance of the laser, associated with anticonvulsants, in a patient with trigeminal neuralgia, considering its results from a clinical and thermographic point of view. CASE REPORT: Male patient, 62 years old, presenting idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia, diagnosed 4 years before, being controlled with oxcarbazepine (600mg), divided in 2 daily doses, being the dose doubled in the last year. In the last 4 months, the symptoms worsened with the increase in the drug dosage, generating side effects not supported by the patient. Photobiomodulation was proposed as a complementary treatment, with infrared thermography being performed before and after treatment. After the low-intensity laser therapy protocol, there was a significant improvement, demonstrated both by the patients report and the thermography, maintaining this result in the 6-month control. The dosage was reduced to 300 mg/day, restoring quality of life. CONCLUSION: Low-intensity infrared laser photobiomodulation can be extremely useful when associated with an appropriate drug in the control of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia, both in the immediate and medium-term outcome.