title: Defocused Shock Wave Therapy for Chronic Soft Tissue Wounds in the Lower Limbs: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Chronic soft tissue wounds of the lower limbs are debilitating, painful and often unresponsive to advanced dressing treatments. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) could represent an alternative treatment. Ten patients with chronic soft tissue wounds of the legs, unresponsive to advanced dressing treatments for more than 3 mo, underwent three defocused ESWT sessions at 72-h intervals. In every session, the sum of 300 standard pulses + 100 pulses per square centimeter was applied at 0.15 mJ/mm2and 4 Hz over the edge of the wound. The wound size in square centimeters, Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool and visual analogue scale were used as outcome measures. A significant reduction in wound size and Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool and visual analogue scale values from pre-treatment to 90 d was observed. Seven of ten ulcers healed completely and nine of ten patients reported complete pain relief. Defocused ESWT represents a non-invasive, feasible strategy for difficult-to-treat soft tissue wounds of the lower limbs.
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porso
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loreti
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sveva Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nusca
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luziatelli
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caccia
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taborri
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trischitta
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taurino
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Neurosciences and Orthopaedics, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy; Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus Foundation, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Padua
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo Maria
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Saraceni
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vulpiani
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy. Electronic address: mariovetrano@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vetrano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing
keywords: Advanced dressing treatment; Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool; Chronic soft tissue wound; Defocused extracorporeal shock wave therapy; Visual analogue scale; Wound size