A randomized, double-blind clinical trial comparing the effects of continuous and pulsed ultrasound in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis

Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari, Mojtaba Fathali, Soofia Naghdi, Scott Hasson, Shohreh Jalaie, Mohammad Saeed Rastak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of continuous ultrasound (CUS) with pulsed ultrasound (PUS) in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study, 40 patients (10 losses) with CRS participated. Patients received either continuous or pulsed (1:9) 1 MHz ultrasound (US) using a US head of 1 cm 2 at 1 W/cm 2 and 0.5 W/cm 2 for the maxillary and frontal sinuses, respectively. Treatment was performed in 10 sessions, 3 days per week, with US given every other day. The primary outcome measure was percent improvement in the Sinusitis Symptom Score. Measurements were taken before and after 10 treatment sessions. The patients were followed up monthly for 2 months. After treatment, both groups improved significantly on the Sinusitis Symptoms Score. Patients who received PUS had significantly decreased total symptom scores compared with patients receiving CUS (mean change 9.8 vs. 5.6, p = 0.049). The percent improvement in the Sinusitis Symptom Score between the PUS group (65.2 SD 23.1) and the CUS group (43.9 SD 40.7) was not statistically significant ( p = 0.09). The effect size for each treatment was large; PUS: d = 3.92 and CUS: d = 1.93. Symptom improvement in both groups was similar at the 2-month follow-up. These results support the use of therapeutic US for CRS. This pilot study gives only marginal evidence to favor PUS over CUS.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)85-94
Number of pages10
JournalPhysiotherapy theory and practice
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2012
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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