부산대학교 도서관

PURPOSE: A placebo controlled, double blind, randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the electrical stimulation in the treatment of chronic leg ulcers. SUBJECTS: Individuals (n=36) with leg ulcers lasting greater than 3 months despite standard wound care therapy that did not possess contraindications for electrical stimulation therapy were recruited into the study. They were stratified into 3 groups (diabetic, arterial, or venous ulcers) based on an initial assessment which included a complete vascular evaluation, and then randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Both groups received 45 minutes treatments 3 times weekly for four weeks with high voltage pulsed current (HVPC) administered using negative polarity with a monopolar set up at an intensity of 150V and a frequency of 100 Hz. One of the units was previously deactivated by the manufacturer (EMHI, Miami, Fl.) in a manner which concealed the identity of the placebo and active units from both the patient and the investigator. ANALYSES: The wound size, wound appearance, pain and leg girth were determined using reliable outcome measures at 2 weeks prior, 1,2,3,4 weeks during, and 1 month following treatments. RESULTS: Wound size decreased by 44.3 + 8.8% in the active group (n = 21) over the four week treatment period. This was significantly greater than the decrease in wound size observed in wounds treated with placebo units [16.0 + 8.9% (n=22); P [is less than] 0.05)]. Healing rates in both HVPC and sham treated wounds were related to whether the primary etiology of the wound was addressed and to the number of factors affecting wound healing. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in any of the other outcome measures. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that HVPC is effective in accelerating wound closure of patients with chronic wounds due to vascular insufficiency.
This research was supported by Victoria Hospital Research Foundation, LHSC, London, Ontario, Canada and Electro Med Health Industries, Miami, Fl, USA. Houghton PE, Kincaid CB, Lovell M, Campbell KE, Woodbury [...]