The treatment of venous leg ulcers with a specifically designed compression stocking kit

Abstract

SummaryTraditionally, venous leg ulcers are treated with firm nonelastic bandages. Medical compression stockings are not the first choice although comparative studies found them equally effective or superior to bandages. Patients, methods: We report on a multi-center randomized trial with 60 patients treated with either short stretch multi-layer bandages or a two-stocking system (Sigvaris® Ulcer X® kit). Three patients have been excluded because their ankle movement was restricted to the extent that they could not put on the stockings and 1 patient withdrew consent. Patient characteristics and ulcer features were evenly distributed. The proportion of ulcers healed within 4 months and the time to completion of healing were recorded. Subjective appraisal was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Results: Complete wound closure was achieved in 70.0% (21 of 30) with bandages and in 96.2% (25 of 26) with the ulcer X kit (p = 0.011). Ulcers with a diameter of up to about 4cm healed twice as rapidly, the larger ones as fast with the stocking kit as with bandages. The sum of problems encountered with bandages was significantly greater than that observed with the stocking kit (p < 0.0001). Pain at night and in the morning was absent with stockings but reported by 40% and 20% in the bandage group, respectively. The cardinal features associated with delayed or absent healing were ulcer size and pain. Conclusions: Common venous ulcers can readily be treated with the ulcer X compression kit provided the ankle movement allow its painless donning. Bandages, even when applied by the most experienced staff are less effective and cause more problems.