Lasers for toenail onychomycosis
April 20th, 2011 | 
The use of lasers for toenail onychomycosis has led to some debate and discussion (Laser treatment for nail fungus; The PinPointe Laser) on its clinical usefulness, efficacy and the published evidence for its use. There is next to no published evidence for the use of lasers for this and no controlled clinical trials have yet compared it to a current therapy or even a placebo. This lack of data has not stopped it beginning to be used in clinical practice and many powerful claims made for its effectiveness in the absence of this evidence (see the You Tube videos).
The most recent published research in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association ( Treatment of Mild, Moderate, and Severe Onychomycosis Using 870- and 930-nm Light Exposure), certainly shows that there is some promise for lasers, but this was a small study with no control group. The FDA has approved several devices for this therapy, but that is only for safety and not efficacy, despite what is being claimed. More clinical trials, that are independent and well controlled are urgently needed. Many of those lecturing at conferences on this are paid guns for the companies with vested financial interests.
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Posted in Dermatology
