Efectos del ultrasonido terapéutico en el tratamiento de las úlceras por presión en adultos mayores con dependencia severa

Abstract

IntroductionIn Chile, it has been observed that 50% of the people who have pressure ulcers (PU) are elderly adults (EA). Because this population is showing sustained growth, it would be important to seek solution alternatives. Thus, this study aims to ascertain the effects of therapeutic ultrasound (TU) on the PU healing process in the elderly with severe dependency. Material and methodsTwelve EA (17 PU) from the CESFAM (Family Health Center) and long-stay Nursing Homes from Talca City were treated for 8 weeks. They were distributed into 4 groups (control, ultraviolet therapy and UT with 10 and 20J/cm2 of energy density). The PU area and the score on the wound assessment diagram were evaluated once a week in order to compare their final values. Weekly and final recovery rates were also calculated from them. ResultsAll the groups showed a decrease of areas and scores. The TU group showed the greatest changes, however, these changes were not significant by the Kruskal-Wallis test. The Wilcoxon test (P<.05) showed significant differences between all the groups between the initial and final values for the area variable, however, the differences of score (P<.05) were only significant for group 2. ConclusionTendencies were observed that indicate that the ultrasound together with ultraviolet C radiation accelerate the healing process. However, the difference was not significant, probably because of the small sample size. Thus, new studies are recommended that include more subjects in order to elucidate the question arising in our research.