Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Chronic Venous Ulcers: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Parisa Taheri,Morteza Shahbandari,Babak Vahdatpour,Mehrnoosh Parvaresh

doi:10.31661/gmj.v10i0.1931

Parisa Taheri, Morteza Shahbandari + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.31661/gmj.v10i0.1931

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Abstract

Background: Chronic venous ulcers (CVUs), demanding specialized care, are still a major socioeconomic problem facing health care systems worldwide. This study’s main goal was evaluating the efficacy of ESWT application as an AT in the treatment of wounds for curing CVUs.Materials and Methods: 50 patients presenting with CVUs were divided into two groups of ESWT and control randomly. Then, ESWT was applied one session per week, during four weeks, along with routine CB. The control group also received sham ESWT together with CB. In this respect, pain score, wound size, patient satisfaction and quality of life (QoL) using the Charing Cross Venous Ulcer Questionnaire (CCVUQ) were consequently assessed at baseline, week four, and week eight and then compared between both groups.Results: The findings showed that patients receiving ESWT along with CB had significantly lower pain and were also feeling more satisfied than the cases undergoing CB alone (P<0.05). The significant efficiency of ESWT in improving the healing process of CVUs was further observed (P<0.05). In addition, QoL, assessed by the CCVUQ, was significantly higher in patients receiving ESWT (P<0.05). Conclusion: These findings established that ESWT was a feasible and safe option to treat patients presenting with CVUs in another word,ESWT seems to be a safe and effective adjunct therapy (AT) compared with CB in patients with CVUs.

Highlights

Chronic venous ulcers (CVUs) are open complex wounds caused by chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in the lower extremity below the knee on the leg or the foot that have been present for at least six weeks [1]
According to Figure-1, 58 patients were examined in this study, three patients had no informed consent to participate in this project, five patients were not eligible to participate in the study after initial studies, and three patients in the extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) group and three patients in the control group were excluded from the study during follow-up and were reluctant to continue cooperation
The final analysis was performed on 22 patients in the ESWT group and 22 patients in the control group

Summary

Introduction

Chronic venous ulcers (CVUs) are open complex wounds caused by chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in the lower extremity below the knee on the leg or the foot that have been present for at least six weeks [1] The frequency of these wounds is rising, associated with impaired quality of life (QoL), reduced mobility, pain, stress, and loss of dignity. Having no control group, selecting patients with different causes of chronic wounds, and recruiting a relatively low number of samples have been among limitations of prior studies. In this respect, Zhang et al, had demonstrated that the healing process of chronic lesions, compared with the standard care treatment alone, could be significantly augmented by adding ESWT as an adjunct therapy (AT). Conclusion: These findings established that ESWT was a feasible and safe option to treat patients presenting with CVUs in another word, ESWT seems to be a safe and effective adjunct therapy (AT) compared with CB in patients with CVUs. [GMJ.2021;10:e1931] DOI:10.31661/gmj.v10i0.1931

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