Page 53 - Veterinary Laser Therapy in Small Animal Practice

Tissue healing 39

species, both in terms of dose, frequency, power density,
etc., but also in terms of how often we irradiate. If you Summary from a
do some research, you can also find experiments with different perspective
blue light, which seems to be more antibacterial, with
light and photosensitizing agents, and with low-inten- The take-home message is: use laser in your
sity visible light, which has been reported to increase infected wounds, and also in the rest, of course.
the growth of some species. [193] You will improve the clinical response and will
Check Tables 5.1 and 5.2 for a summary of what has probably end up using less antibiotics, which
been published regarding this direct antibacterial effect is always good news in terms of patient health
of infrared and red light, both in vitro and in vivo. In and global resistance matters. Antibiotics
practice, an infected wound would be treated using are not always free from side effects, and the
2
around 1–4 J/cm as a starting dose. Always consider growth in antibiotic-resistant bacteria makes the
bacterial culture for complicated, chronic, or infected development of new strategies to combat infection
wounds. If what you are treating is septic arthritis, be a must.
aware of how painful that is; you will have to use a lower
power density than if you are treating osteoarthritis.

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