Abstract Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent atopic disorder characterized by nasal congestion, rhinorrhoea, sneezing, and nasal itching, all of which significantly impair patients’ quality of life. Although conventional management with intranasal corticosteroids and antihistamines effectively alleviates symptoms, emerging evidence suggests that intranasal laser diathermy (ILD) may further enhance therapeutic outcomes. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of combining ILD with standard medical therapy in the management of AR, compared to medical therapy alone. Materials and Methods: A 2-year randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 48 patients diagnosed with AR. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups: a control group receiving standard medical therapy alone and an intervention group receiving standard therapy supplemented with ILD. Symptom intensity and quality of life were evaluated at baseline and follow-up using the visual analogue scale and total symptom score. Results: Patients in the intervention group experienced significantly greater symptomatic improvement and quality-of-life enhancement than those in the control group. Nasal obstruction improved by 83.08% in the intervention group compared with 64.77% in the control group ( P = 0.019). Sneezing decreased by 80.17% versus 61.40% ( P = 0.034). Overall symptom severity declined by 81.71% in the intervention group and 66.78% in the control group ( P = 0.049). Quality-of-life scores improved by 95.63% in the intervention group compared to 80.05% in the control group ( P = 0.018). Conclusion: The addition of ILD to standard medical therapy provides significantly greater relief of AR symptoms and improves quality of life compared to medical therapy alone. The statistically significant improvements observed in nasal obstruction, sneezing, overall symptom severity, and quality of life highlight ILD as a promising adjunctive treatment modality for AR management.
Bohra et al. (Thu,) studied this question.