Abstract
<jats:p>Oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by a relapsing course, considerable variability of clinical manifestations, and a potential risk of malignant transformation. The erosive-ulcerative form is distinguished by persistent pain syndrome, prolonged disease progression, and difficulties in achieving stable remission, which necessitates the search for new and effective methods of local treatment. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of low-temperature plasma in the complex local treatment of patients with the erosive-ulcerative form of oral lichen planus. Participants and methods. The study included 21 patients aged 45–65 years with erosive-ulcerative oral lichen planus. All patients received standard therapy supplemented with local application of low-temperature plasma. The treatment course consisted of five procedures performed at three-day intervals. Pain intensity was assessed using a visual analogue scale, while changes in erythema and the size of erosive lesions were evaluated during treatment and follow-up observation. Results. A significant reduction in pain intensity was observed as early as the third day of treatment, decreasing from 8.71±0.18 to 4.23±0.18 points. By the sixth day, most patients reported minimal or absent pain, while the area of erythema and the size of erosions significantly decreased. By the fifteenth day, complete epithelialization of lesions was observed in the majority of patients. During the follow-up period, some patients experienced disease recurrence, which required maintenance therapy. Subsequent observation demonstrated stabilization of the clinical condition under maintenance treatment. Conclusions. The use of low-temperature plasma as part of comprehensive treatment of erosive-ulcerative oral lichen planus contributes to the reduction of inflammation, rapid pain relief, and acceleration of epithelialization of mucosal lesions. The method demonstrates clinical effectiveness and may be considered a promising approach for improving local therapy; however, further studies with larger sample sizes and long-term outcome evaluation are required.</jats:p>