This review examines the latest evidence for photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating chronic rhinosinusitis. MedLine, EMBASE and TRIP Database searches were conducted using the terms: “photodynamic” or “phototherapy” or “photo” and “sinusitis” or “rhinosinusitis,” date range January 2000 to May 2020. A total of 192 records were initially identified, after duplicates and exclusions, 9 full papers and 3 abstracts were included. All study types including in-vitro, animal and human studies were evaluated. Whilst there is in-vitro evidence for the efficacy of PDT’s bactericidal effect on drug resistant bacteria and biofilm viability, there are few clinical studies. PDT is a promising area of research, but larger, focused studies looking at the safety, delivery, efficacy, and patient selection are required before it can be considered a viable treatment for CRS.
Keywords: Phototherapy, photodynamic therapy, paranasal sinus diseases, sinusitis, alternative therapies