title: Photodynamic therapy for chronic venous ulcers.
abstract: Some laboratory findings and a few case reports support the treatment of chronic venous ulcers with photodynamic therapy. We treated 19 patients with refractory chronic venous ulcers using photodynamic therapy. The ulcers healed in 15 cases (78.9%) after an average of 6.8 photodynamic therapy sessions (range 6.0-8.0). In the remaining 4 cases, the ulcers showed marked improvement after 10 photodynamic therapy sessions. Photodynamic therapy seems to represent a good alternative therapeutic choice for refractory chronic venous ulcers.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cappugi
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Comacchi
authors.affiliation: Daniele Torchia, MD, PhD, Via della Scala 58, 50123 Florence, Italy; daniele.torchia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Torchia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents