Evaluation of the Efficacy of Piroxicam Gel in the Control of Pain and Erythema Caused by Fractional Co2 Laser Compared with Lubricant Gel

Fractional Co2 laser is a good procedure to treat acne scar, surgical scar and senile wrinkles but it is almost painful and if we provide a good pain relief the patient will have a good cooperation during laser, so we can use higher fluence with better results. To determine the safety and efficacy of piroxicam gel in the control of pain and erythema caused by fractional Co2 laser compared with lubricant gel. In this clinical trial we chose 122 patients who refered to Novin laser clinic for fractional Co2 laser. The patients used gel A (piroxicam gel) on one side of the face and gel B (lubricant gel) on the other side of the face as placebo an hour before laser. To determine pain level we used VAS (Visual analogue scale) score from one point to ten. Each patient scored the pain during, immediately after, 1 hour later and 24 hours after laser. To determine the severity of erythema during, immediately after, 1 hour later and one week after laser we compared the erythema of both side of the face with each other. We also compare the prevalence of Post-inflammatory pigmentation (PIP) after 1 month of laser with both gels. At the end we analyzed the data with SPSS18. Piroxicam gel can provide better pain relief during laser, immediately after laser and 1 hour later compared with lubricant gel but pain score was the same 24 hours later with both gels. The severity of erythema with both gels was the same during laser, immediately after, 1 hour later and after one week. In fact piroxicam gel has no effect on the erythema caused by fractional Co2 laser.The prevalence of PIP was the same for both gels after one month so piroxicam gel can not prevent PIP caused by fractional Co2 laser. As a result piroxicam gel can use as a safe and effective drug before fractional Co2 laser to decrease the pain but has no effect on erythema and PIP caused by fractional Co2 laser.