Abstract
Objective: Venous leg ulceration (VLU) is a common condition associated with significant patient morbidity. This prospective case series investigated the use of PICO (R) topical negative pressure therapy (TNPT) in addition to graduated compression therapy for VLU.
Methods: Patients with VLU were recruited from a specialist vascular surgery clinic and treated with the novel combination of TNPT (PICO) underneath graduated compression therapy.
Results: Twelve patients (15 VLUs) were treated over a median of 20 days (7-42). Median surface area reduced from 2.1 cm(2) (1.1-5.8) to 0.8 cm(2) (0.2-3.2) (p=0.022), and depth from 3.0 mm (1.8-3.3) to 0 mm (0-0) (p=0.005 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test). Time to heal was compared to a historical cohort with similar characteristics that was treated with compression therapy alone. The addition of TNPT was found to reduce time to heal from 6.3 to 4.3 weeks (p=0.024).
Conclusion: This pilot study supports the benefit of combining TNPT (PICO) with compression bandaging to accelerate VLU healing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 36-40 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Primary Intention |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |