Treatment of open-skin wounds with electric stimulation.

Abstract

A randomized double blind multi-center study of electric stimulation compared with sham units enrolled 59 patients (67 wounds) with open wounds of pressure, vascular and surgical etiology at nine sites. The 14-week study consisted of a four-week phase, randomized, parallel-group, double blind, sham stimulation controlled group comparing effectiveness and tolerance of electric and sham stimulation of open wounds. Patients with wounds not completely closed at the end of the four weeks were allowed to cross over to actual treatment. After four weeks of treatment, the electric stimulation group showed a 56% decrease in size with only a 33% decrease in size with sham treatment. Available data suggest that pulsed electric stimulation should be considered by health care practitioners as an adjunct for treating open wounds.