Safety of repeated low-level red-light therapy for myopia: A systematic review
Chen Y, Xiong R, Yang S, Zhu Z, Li H, Xiang K, Congdon N, Wang W, He M
Asia-Pacific journal of ophthalmology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 17 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Systematic review (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2024-11-01 · Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila) · vol. 13 · issue 6 · p. 100124
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Cited
- 31 citations · more than 94% of similar papers · 3.4× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 93 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies · Laser Applications in Dentistry and Medicine · Retinal Diseases and Treatments
- Keywords
- Medicine, Optometry
- MeSH
- humans, myopia, tomography, optical coherence, refraction, ocular, visual acuity, low-level light therapy
9 authors
From CN, AU
- Yanping ChenSun Yat-sen University
- Ruilin XiongSun Yat-sen University
- Shaopeng YangSun Yat-sen University
- Ziyu ZhuSun Yat-sen University
- Hongyan LiSun Yat-sen University
- Kaidi XiangShanghai Eye Disease Prevention & Treatment Center
Abstract
Purpose
Establishing the safety profile of repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) therapy is necessary prior to its widespread clinical implementation.
Methods
We conducted a systematic review (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42024516676) of articles across seven databases from inception through February 10, 2024, with keywords related to myopia and RLRL therapy. Pooled safety outcomes and risk-to-benefit ratios were reported, and incidence of side effects was compared with other antimyopia interventions.
Results
Among 689 screened articles, 20 studies (2.90 %; median duration 9 months, longest 24 months) were analysed, encompassing 2380 participants aged 3-18 years and 1436 individuals undergoing RLRL therapy. Two case reports described an identical patient with reversible decline in visual acuity and optical coherence tomography (OCT) abnormalities, completely resolved 4 months after treatment cessation. No cases of permanent vision loss were reported. Temporary afterimage was the most common ocular symptom following treatment, resolving within 6 minutes in reported studies. The number needed to harm outweighed the number needed to treat by a ratio of 12.7-21.4 for a person with -3D to -8D myopia treated with RLRL therapy. Incidence of side effects from RLRL was 0.088 per 100 patient-years (95 % confidence interval, 0.02-0.50).
Conclusions
No irreversible visual function loss or ocular structural damage was identified with RLRL. Fundus photography and OCT before and during therapy, alongside home monitoring of visual acuity and duration of afterimages, are necessary to identify side effects. Further adequately powered studies of longer duration are needed to evaluate long-term safety of RLRL.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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