Article

The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine. 2015; 36(4): 561-569.

Published online 2015 December 31.

The Clinical Indication of Low-Level Laser Therapy Using ICD-10

Hyeun-jin Han¹, Ki-wan Kang¹, Sei-young Kang¹, Lak-hyung Kim², and In-soo Jang¹

¹Dept. of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Woo-Suk University
²Dept. of Neuropsychatry, College of Korean Medicine, Woo-Suk University

Corresponding Author: Email: mackayj@naver.com

Received 2015 December 04;    Accepted 2015 December 28.

Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to improve the knowledge of the low-level laser therapy (LLLT) field and to review research reports on LLLT to understand the current situation with respect to the clinical indication and current research trends.

Methods:
A survey was carried out on the subject of low-level laser therapy to September 2012, using the PubMed search engine. Selected literature was checked by two reviewers and was classified according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th (ICD-10) over 10 years.

Results:
We selected 469 studies in total, of which 142 were case reports, 118 were case-controlled trials, and 209 were randomized controlled trials of LLLT. According to the ICD-10 classification of diseases, the K code and M code being the most common, 399 studies have been published in the last 10 years. This shows that the study and clinical indications of low-level laser therapy have rapidly increased over the past 10 years.

Conclusions:
Low-level laser therapy has been used most frequently with respect to dentistry and pain and musculoskeletal disorders. Recently, interest in and research into LLLT has increased for various diseases. With the establishment of standard conditions for low-level laser therapy, supported by aggressive clinical utilization and systematic clinical research, LLLT will be a very useful treatment and a useful alternative method in many medical fields.

Keywords : low level laser therapy, LLLT, ICD 10, disease classification