Low-Intensity Phonophoresis of Cortisol in Swine

Abstract

The objective of this series of experiments was to determine whether externally applied Cortisol could be driven through pig skin, in situ, and recovered from paravertebral muscle and nerve, using ultrasonic intensities tolerable to all patients. The data reported show that swine muscle and nerve exposed to low-intensity long-duration phonophoretically applied Cortisol exhibit much greater Cortisol levels than do similar tissues exposed to high-intensity short-duration phonophoresis. Possible reasons for the superiority of the newer technique are discussed. On the basis of these data it seems reasonable to administer Cortisol phonophoretically to any patient for whom the treatment is indicated.