Effect of electrical stimulation on chronic leg ulcer size and appearance.
OBJECTIVE
Electrical current has been recommended for use on chronic pressure ulcers; however, the ability of this modality to improve healing of other types of chronic ulcers is less well established. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of high-voltage pulsed current (HVPC) on healing of chronic leg ulcers.


METHODS
Twenty-seven people with 42 chronic leg ulcers participated in the study.


METHODS
The subjects were separated into subgroups according to primary etiology of the wound (diabetes, arterial insufficiency, venous insufficiency) and then randomly assigned to receive either HVPC (100 microseconds, 150 V, 100 Hz) or a sham treatment for 45 minutes, 3 times weekly, for 4 weeks. Wound surface area and wound appearance were assessed during an initial examination, following a 1- to 2-week period during which subjects received only conventional wound therapy, after 4 weeks of sham or HVPC treatment, and at 1 month following treatments.


RESULTS
The results indicated that HVPC applied to chronic leg ulcers reduced the wound surface area over the 4-week treatment period to approximately one half the initial wound size (mean decrease=44.3%, SD=8.8%, range=2.8%-100%), which was over 2 times greater than that observed in wounds treated with sham units (mean decrease=16.0%, SD=8.9%, range=-30.3%-83.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the study indicate that HVPC administered 3 times a week should be considered to accelerate wound closure of chronic leg ulcers.
Houghton
Pamela E
PE
School of Physical Therapy, University of Western Ontario, Room 1443, London, Ontario, Canada N6G 1H1. phoughto@uwo.ca
Kincaid
Cynthia B
CB
Lovell
Marge
M
Campbell
Karen E
KE
Keast
David H
DH
Woodbury
M Gail
MG
Harris
Kenneth A
KA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014945:Wound Healing