BackgroundDifferent methods are available for the treatment of venous ulcers. Most current approaches focus on a combination of topical and compressive therapy. Adjuvant low-level laser therapy may be helpful in lesions with a protracted healing course, but evidence for its use is still limited. This paper describes the protocol of a randomized controlled trial designed to compare the effect of adjuvant low-level laser therapy versus conventional venous ulcer tissue repair, evaluated by a nurse using clinical indicators from the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC).Methods/designFor this prospective randomized controlled trial, 40 adult patients of both sexes with active venous ulcers will be recruited. Subjects will be selected by the sealed-envelope method without any annotation or external identification that might refer to the type of study group. At the time of unblinding, a label with the description of the group to which the patient belongs (that is, control or intervention) will be found inside the envelope. Conventional treatment (topical medication and compressive therapy) will be offered to both groups. Additionally, the intervention group will receive adjuvant low-level laser therapy. All patients will be followed weekly until ulcer healing or for a maximum of 16 weeks. Evaluation of tissue repair will be based on 14 clinical indicators drawn from NOC for wound healing (secondary intention) and tissue integrity (skin and mucous membranes). The primary endpoint will be decreased wound size and scar formation. This laser therapy is expected to enhance the quality, speed, and effectiveness of the treatment of venous ulcers, a chronic condition. This should reduce associated costs to the health service and allow patients to resume their daily activities sooner.DiscussionThis randomized clinical trial will use a validated method to investigate the effect of a novel intervention for the treatment of venous ulcers.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03229330. Registered on July 2017.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2729-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective:To validate interventions and nursing activities proposed by the Nursing Interventions Classifi cation for patients with acute renal failure or acute chronic renal disease in hemodialysis therapy with the Excess Fluid Volume and Risk for Imbalanced Fluid Volume nursing diagnoses. Methods: Validation of content with 19 expert nurses from a university hospital. The data collection was made from September to November 2011 through instruments that contained the interventions and nursing activities in study. The data analysis considered the average of scores obtained in the validation process. Results: The Fluid Management was validated as a priority intervention (mean ≥ 0.8), with eight main activities for the Excess Fluid Volume nursing diagnosis and eight for the Risk for Imbalanced Fluid Volume nursing diagnosis. Conclusion:The validated intervation of the Fluid Management enables the monitoring of the hydric balance and facilitates the prevention of complications, which are important activities in the nursing care of the patients in hemodialysis therapy.

Objective: to identify the action of low power laser therapy in wound healing. Method: this is a bibliographical study, of integrative review type, with search of articles published between 2004 and 2017, in the MEDLINE, LILACS and virtual library SciELO databases. After the articles were read, the data was extracted and analyzed, and presented in figure form. Results: 24 articles were selected, with different research designs. It has been found that low-power laser therapy promotes positive actions in oxygenation, cell growth and modulation due to irradiated light, which affects the metabolic processes and produces cellular and vascular biostimulants essential to the tissue repair process. Conclusion: it is concluded that low-power laser therapy is an adjuvant treatment that accelerates the tissue repair process and promotes patient comfort benefits. Descriptors: Laser therapy; Low Intensity Light Therapy; Healing; Review; Treatment Outcome; Wounds. RESUMOObjetivo identificar a ação da terapia a laser de baixa potência na cicatrização de feridas. Método: trata-se de um estudo bibliográfico, tipo revisão integrativa, com busca de artigos publicados entre 2004 a 2017, nas bases de dados MEDLINE, LILACS e biblioteca virtual SciELO. Efetuaram-se, após a leitura dos artigos, a extração e a análise dos dados, e apresentam-se em forma de figura. Resultados: selecionaram-se 24 artigos, com diferentes delineamentos de pesquisa. Verificou-se que a terapia a laser de baixa potência propicia ações positivas na oxigenação, crescimento e modulação celular devido à luz irradiada, que afeta os processos metabólicos e produz bioestimulantes celulares e vasculares essenciais ao processo de reparo tecidual. Conclusão: conclui-se que a terapia a laser de baixa potência é um tratamento adjuvante que acelera o processo de reparação tecidual e promove benefícios ao conforto dos pacientes. Descritores: Terapia a laser; Terapia a Luz de Baixa Intensidade; Cicatrização; Revisão; Resultado do Tratamento; Feridas.RESUMEN Objetivo: identificar la acción de la terapia láser de baja potencia en la cicatrización de las heridas. Método: se trata de un estudio bibliográfico, tipo revisión integrativa, con búsqueda de artículos publicados entre 2004 a 2017, en las bases de datos MEDLINE, LILACS y biblioteca virtual SciELO. Se realizaron, después de la lectura de los artículos, la extracción y el análisis de los datos, y se presentan en forma de figura. Resultados: se seleccionaron 24 artículos, con diferentes delineamientos de investigación. Se ha comprobado que la terapia láser de baja potencia propicia acciones positivas en la oxigenación, crecimiento y modulación celular debido a la luz irradiada, que afecta los procesos metabólicos y produce bioestimulantes celulares y vasculares esenciales al proceso de reparación del tejido. Conclusión: se concluye que la terapia láser de baja potencia es un tratamiento adyuvante que acelera el proceso de reparación tisular y promueve beneficios al bien estar de los pacientes. Descriptores: Terapia por Láser; Terapia por Luz de Baja Intensidad; Cicatrización de Herida; Revisión; Resultado del tratamento; Heridas y Lesiones.

The results may support clinical evaluation, bringing chest pain assessment into focus.