Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41629512
Effectiveness of laser photobiomodulation in the management of trigeminal neuralgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Taddeucci Paula da Costa, Louzeiro Gabriel Campos, Cherubini Karen, et al. · Lasers in medical science · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1007/s10103-026-04804-9
Findings
5 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults with trigeminal neuralgia | Laser photobiomodulation (PBM), alone or added to other treatment | Sham laser, no laser, or non-laser treatment (carbamazepine or ganglion block alone) | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) End of treatment · Orofacial pain clinics (Iran, Egypt, Turkey) · All trials (drug therapy and regional block subgroups combined) | MD -2.17 [-3.30, -1.04] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 272 participants |
| Adults with trigeminal neuralgia | Laser photobiomodulation (PBM), alone or added to other treatment | Sham laser, no laser, or non-laser treatment (carbamazepine or ganglion block alone) | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) End of treatment · Orofacial pain clinics (Iran, Egypt, Turkey) · Sensitivity analysis excluding studies at high risk of bias | MD -2.51 [-3.45, -1.57] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 162 participants |
| Adults with trigeminal neuralgia receiving carbamazepine | Laser photobiomodulation (PBM) plus carbamazepine | Sham laser or no laser plus carbamazepine | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) End of treatment · Orofacial pain clinics (Iran, Egypt, Turkey) · Sensitivity analysis excluding studies at high risk of bias | MD -2.96 [-3.72, -2.20] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 120 participants |
| Adults with trigeminal neuralgia receiving carbamazepine | Laser photobiomodulation (PBM) plus carbamazepine | Sham laser or no laser plus carbamazepine | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) End of treatment · Orofacial pain clinics (Iran, Egypt, Turkey) · Drug therapy subgroup (carbamazepine in all participants) | MD -2.31 [-3.61, -1.01] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 230 participants |
| Adults with postherpetic neuralgia in the orofacial region | Photobiomodulation, alone or combined with other treatments | Placebo, sham laser, no treatment, centrally acting drugs or any other intervention | Reduction in pain symptoms | No studies involving patients with postherpetic neuralgia in the orofacial region met the inclusion criteria. No studies found 0 studies |
Included primary studies 9
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rezazadeh 2023 Effect of Non-Ablative Non-Thermal CO2 Laser on Drug-Resistant Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Pilot Study. PMID:37335618 | 2023 | 2 other reviews | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Amanat 2013 The adjunct therapeutic effect of lasers with medication in the management of orofacial pain: double blind randomized controlled trial. PMID:24102165 | 2013 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ebrahimi 2018 Therapeutic and Analgesic Efficacy of Laser in Conjunction With Pharmaceutical Therapy for Trigeminal Neuralgia. PMID:29399314 | 2018 | 1 other review | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) | not extracted yet |
| Karagozoglu 2024 Clinical Efficacy of Two Different Low-Level Laser Therapies for the Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled… PMID:39598034 | 2024 | 1 other review | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) | not extracted yet |
| Aghamohammadi 2012 Gasserian Ganglion Block With or Without Low-intensity Laser Therapy in Trigeminal Neuralgia DOI:10.1097/wnq.0b013e3182571c93 | 2012 | this review only | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) | not extracted yet |
| Al-Azab 2023 Effect of electromagnetic therapy versus low-level laser therapy on diabetic patients with trigeminal neuralgia: a randomized control trial. PMID:36762919 | 2023 | this review only | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) | not extracted yet |
| Antonic 2017 he effects of low level laser therapy on the management of chronic idiopathic orofacial pain: trigeminal neuralgia, temporomandibular… DOI:10.21860/medflum2017_173373 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Waked 2015 Low Level Laser Therapy for the treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia after Oral surgeries: Two Different Applications DOI:10.5455/ijhrs.000000071 | 2015 | this review only | Pain score at end of treatment (VAS, NRS or BPI-Facial) | not extracted yet |
| Walker 1987 Laser Therapy for Pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia DOI:10.1097/00002508-198712000-00001 | 1987 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Adults of both sexes with trigeminal neuralgia or postherpetic neuralgia in the orofacial region | Adults with trigeminal neuralgia (n=387); no studies in postherpetic neuralgia |
| Intervention | Photobiomodulation (PBM), alone or with other treatments | PBM laser (various wavelengths and devices), mostly added to carbamazepine (n=9 studies) |
| Comparison | Placebo, sham laser, no treatment, centrally acting pharmacological agents or any other intervention | Sham laser (n=6 studies), pharmacological therapy alone, ganglion block alone, electromagnetic therapy or a different PBM protocol |
| Outcomes | Reduction in pain symptoms (VAS, NRS, BPI-Facial, McGill Pain Questionnaire) | Pain scores (VAS, NRS, BPI-Facial); meta-analysis of 5 studies |
| Study designs | Randomized controlled clinical trials | Randomized controlled trials (n=9) |
| Timing | Not specified | End of treatment; follow-up in 4 studies |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | No | No | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | No | No | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Critically Low | Critically Low | yes |