Effect of the use of low power laser in the treatment of chronic wounds: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to identify the effects of low-power laser on the healing of chronic wounds. Method: This is an integrative literature review, carried out in the Medline / Pubmed, Cochrane Library and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases, limited to Randomized Clinical Trials, in which 68 articles were identified, of which 19 were pre-selected and seven were included in the final sample, after checking the eligibility criteria. Results: Most articles (n = 05) included patients with injuries resulting from diabetes mellitus located in the regions of the feet and two studies addressed venous ulcers. Most of the selected studies showed that the use of low-level laser therapy was able to accelerate the tissue repair process, with a significant reduction in the wound area, showing effectiveness in promoting healing, when compared to the treatments presented in the different studies. The significant reduction in pain in the laser-treated group was also an important effect reported in some studies. The wavelength in nanometers (nm) used for laser application varied from 632.8 to 830 nm and the doses in joules (J) were from 3 to 7J / cm2. The duration of laser therapy treatment averaged 4 weeks. Conclusion: The low-power laser can be an alternative therapy in the treatment of chronic wounds in clinical practice to optimize and enhance the healing process.