| Abstrakt: |
Introduction: The formation of hard-to-heal wounds can have many causes and is most often the result of the influence of several patient health factors. Some of the most difficult to treat effectively are wounds resulting from complications of diabetes, known as diabetic foot syndrome. Material and methods: Fifty-two patients (mean age 67 years ± 11.5) were eligible. All patients had chronic wounds of varied etiology in the lower limb, the previous treatment of which had not been satisfactory. Therapy parameters were selected individually; in addition to standard therapy, topical physical agents such as light therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field, ozone therapy, and oxygen therapy were included in the treatment. Each therapeutic cycle lasted 10 consecutive days (excluding Saturdays and Sundays), and each treatment lasted approximately 1 hour. Results: The analgesic effect of PEMF therapy was reported at 60% according to the VAS scale assessment. Pain was reduced from the third day of treatments, including for patients in whom pharmacological pain relief did not produce a clear improvement. Wound improvement, through granulation, after the first 10-day treatment cycle was observed in 40.5% of patients (14 k, 7 m). Four patients dropped the continuation of treatment because they did not see healing progress. Six patients dropped out of the next treatment cycle for other reasons (high cost of therapy, long distance of the clinic from home, and other socio-economic reasons). Conclusions: The high efficiency of combining standard treatment with innovative physical treatments allows for better patient care, which accelerates the necessary therapeutic steps toward holistic patient treatment. The authors recommend further multicenter, randomized, blinded trials to develop the optimal dosage to maximize the therapeutic effect and shorten the time to complete wound closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
