Uso da terapia por fotobiomodulação a laser no tratamento do paciente com covid-19 em unidade de terapia intensiva

Abstract

The pandemic context ended up causing the exploration of new treatment methods in the face of the conditions presented by patients in this period. In this bias, photobiomodulation therapy has been characterized as a viable therapeutic aspect for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit, since it has great potential for biological alteration. To demonstrate the feasibility of the treatment, a case report was carried out that aimed to evaluate the effects of photobiomodulation as an adjuvant treatment in a patient with COVID-19 admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). A 68-year-old man with severe COVID-19 received 5 sessions of PBMT by laser, once daily. The treatment protocol consisted of the association of the application of local PBMT with 808 nm laser and the application of a transdermal laser in the radial artery with a 660 nm laser. The patient was evaluated before and after treatment through radiological evaluation, blood tests and oxygen requirement. Oxygen saturation (SpO2) increased from 92% in the support of oxygen with a mask without rebreathing 13 L/min to 95% in the delivery of O2 2 L/min in a nasal catheter, tolerating the withdrawal of oxygen therapy for 20 minutes. This case report showed that the use of photobiomodulation therapy in the adjuvant treatment of a patient with COVID-19 decreases oxygen needs over several days and without the need for a ventilator. Future controlled clinical trials are needed to assess the effects of PBMT on clinical outcomes in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).