Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy on Wound Healing in Human Subjects: A Systematic Review

Abstract

. This systematic review summarises the efficacy of infrared low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on wound healing in human subjects. In order to retrieve randomised clinical trials, we performed computer-aided searches of databases and bibliographic indexes. Furthermore, congress reports, reviews and handbooks were checked for relevant citations. Subsequently, all retrieved and masked studies were scored on methodological quality. We found four randomised clinical trials that investigated the effects of LLLT versus placebo or any other intervention. Only one trial demonstrated a beneficial effect. Overall, study quality ranged from poor to insufficient. For three studies we could perform a meta-analysis. The overall effect size estimate indicates that LLLT had no significant beneficial effect on wound healing (pooled RR=0.76, 95% CL 0.41–1.40). We conclude that there are no scientific arguments for routine application of infrared (904 nm) LLLT on wound healing in patients with decubitus ulcers, venous leg ulcers (ulcus cruris) or other chronic wounds.