Therapeutic assessment of intralesional corticosteroids and ultrasound therapy in management of oral submucous fibrosis: A comparative study

Abstract

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a premalignant condition with a chronic, debilitating, and resistant nature. Various treatment modalities have been proposed for this condition including steroid injections and surgical interventions. In literature, there are very few studies signifying the role of therapeutic ultrasound in OSMF and this still remains a hidden field which needs to be explored further. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of ultrasound therapy with and without physical exercise with intralesional injection (I/L) of 2 ml dexamethasone (4 mg/ml) + hyaluronidase 1500 IU with physical exercise in patients with OSMF. Materials and Method: A total of 30 patients with OSMF were selected irrespective of age and gender and were allocated into groups A, B and C randomly. Group A: 10 patients treated with I/L injection of dexamethasone and hyaluronidase with physical exercise. Group B: 10 patients treated with therapeutic ultrasound and soft tissue mobilization with physical exercise. Group C: 10 patients treated with therapeutic ultrasound and soft tissue mobilization without physical exercise. All the patients were evaluated weekly for 1 month and findings were compared with those at the beginning of treatment. Result: Ultrasound in combination with exercises leads to more improvement in mouth opening compared to ultrasound alone. Improvement in mouth opening of ultrasound with exercise was almost similar to intralesional injection of steroids. Conclusion: Ultrasound therapy interventions definitely show a significant improvement in the patient's condition with no reported side effects; hence it should be included in the treatment protocol for patients with OSMF.

Keywords

• intralesional injection
• osmf
• ultrasound therapy