Background and Purpose. Electrical current has been recommended for use on chronic pressure ulcers; however, the ability of this modality to improve healing of other types of chronic ulcers is less well established. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of high-voltage pulsed current (HVPC) on healing of chronic leg ulcers. Subjects. Twenty-seven people with 42 chronic leg ulcers participated in the study. Methods. The subjects were separated into subgroups according to primary etiology of the wound (diabetes, arterial insufficiency, venous insufficiency) and then randomly assigned to receive either HVPC (100 microseconds, 150 V, 100 Hz) or a sham treatment for 45 minutes, 3 times weekly, for 4 weeks. Wound surface area and wound appearance were assessed during an initial examination, following a 1-to 2-week period during which subjects received only conventional wound therapy, after 4 weeks of sham or HVPC treatment, and at 1 month following treatments. Results. The results indicated that HVPC applied to chronic leg ulcers reduced the wound surface area over the 4-week treatment period to approximately one half the initial wound size (mean decreaseϭ44.3%, SDϭ8.8%, rangeϭ2.8%-100%), which was over 2 times greater than that observed in wounds treated with sham units (mean decreaseϭ16.0%, SDϭ8.9%, rangeϭϪ30.3%-83.7%). Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study indicate that HVPC administered 3 times a week should be considered to accelerate wound closure of chronic leg ulcers. [Houghton PE, Kincaid CB, Lovell M, et al. Effect of electrical stimulation on chronic leg ulcer size and appearance. Phys Ther. 2003;83;17-28.]
Low-intensity direct current has been reported to be effective in promoting healing of infected wounds, and these results have been assumed to apply to stimulation of wound tissue with monophasic high voltage pulsed current (HVPC). The purpose of this study was to determine whether HVPC has an inhibitory effect on growth in vitro of three bacterial species--Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa--commonly isolated from open wounds. Following exposure to HVPC, the measured zone of inhibition of bacterial growth was not significantly different between bacterial species. Inhibition at the anode (positive pole) occurred secondary to build-up of toxic end products, and inhibition at the cathode (negative pole) resulted from exposure to HVPC. Duration of exposure and voltage showed a highly significant linear relationship. Exposure to more than 250 V of HVPC for at least two hours resulted in some degree of inhibition of growth in all three bacterial species.
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