Laser therapy for venous leg ulcers.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness of low level laser therapy in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.


METHODS
Searches of 19 databases, hand searching of journals and conference proceedings from 1948 onwards, and examination of bibliographies.


METHODS
Randomised controlled trials comparing low level laser therapy with: sham laser; no laser; non-coherent light. There was no restriction on date or language. The main outcome measure used was complete healing of the ulcers.


METHODS
Data extraction was done by one reviewer and checked by a second. Meta analysis was used to combine the results of trials where the interventions and outcome measures were sufficiently similar.


RESULTS
There were 4 eligible trials. Two RCTs compared laser therapy with sham, 1 with ultraviolet therapy and 1 with non-coherent, unpolarised red light. Neither of the two RCTs comparing laser with sham found a significant difference in healing rates; there was no significant of laser evident when the trials were pooled. A three-arm study compared: - laser therapy alone - laser therapy plus infrared light - non-coherent, unpolarised red light. Significantly more ulcers completely healed in the group receiving a combination of laser and infrared light compared with non-coherent, unpolarised red light. A fourth trial compared laser and ultraviolet light and found no difference.


CONCLUSIONS
We have found no evidence of any benefit associated with low level laser therapy on venous leg ulcer healing. One small study suggests that a combination of laser and infrared light may promote the healing of venous ulcers, however more research is needed.
Flemming
K
K
Centre for Evidence Based Nursing, University of York, Genesis 6, York Science Park, York, UK, YO10 5DQ. kaf1@york.ac.uk
Cullum
N
N
D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053685:Laser Therapy; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000532:radiotherapy*