Negative pressure wound therapy versus microcurrent electrical stimulation in wound healing in burns

Abstract

Objective: To compare the efficacy of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with that of microcurrent electrical stimulation (MES) on wound surface area, length of stay (LoS) and colony count of wounds in patients with burns. Method: Patients with thermal dermal burn injuries covering 25–40% of total body surface area were enrolled in this clinical trial. Participants were randomly allocated into three, equal-sized groups: patients receiving NPWT, patients receiving MES and a control group which received standard wound care. All groups received the same traditional physical therapy programme in addition to the same nursing and medical care. In all groups, wound surface area, colony count and LoS were measured 72 hours after thermal burn injury (pre), after 10 days and again at 21 days from the beginning of the study. Results: A total of 45 patients took part in the study. There were statistically significant decreases in wound surface area observed in all groups (p<0.05) while MES showed the highest mean percentage of reduction in wound surface. MES and NPWT both showed the lowest values for bacterial growth but NPWT was superior in colony count reduction. For LoS, both MES and NPWT showed the lowest mean value. Conclusion: From the findings of this study, MES was more effective in decreasing wound surface area in burn wounds while NPWT was more effective in reducing bacterial growth.

Randomized clinical trial of negative pressure wound therapy as an adjunctive treatment for small-area thermal burns in children

“…These findings were not reported alongside any clinical outcomes. In a similar cohort of 45 adults 16 , NPWT decreased bacterial counts, wound surface area and duration of hospital stay.…”

“…A major strength of the present trial was its collection of validated patient‐centred endpoints. Many previous RCTs investigating NPWT 15–17 based their findings on surrogate outcomes, which tend to overestimate treatment effects 14 .…”

“…Nonetheless, the body of rigorous evidence from RCTs has not been commensurate with its growing popularity 12–14 . Recently, three small RCTs 15–17 reported significant improvements with NPWT in re‐epithelialization, histological and biochemical markers of wound healing, skin grafting, bacterial infection and scarring. These trials, however, were constrained by their reliance on suboptimal treatment comparators and unvalidated surrogate outcomes.…”

Negative pressure wound therapy for burn patients: A meta‐analysis and systematic review

“…Six RCTs that included a total of 701 patients were selected for review. Data extracted from these studies formed the basis of this systematic review 22‐27 . The flowchart of the literature search is provided in Figure 1.…”

Efeitos da fotobioestimulação e estimulação elétrica na cicatrização e qualidade de vida de indivíduos com úlceras cutâneas: terapias isoladas e associadas

“…Também, é importante observar que, a terapia com laser vermelho de baixa intensidade promove redução do processo inflamatório concomitante ao aumento na síntese de colágeno com consequente aumento da resistência tênsil da pele e favorecimento a resposta de reparo tecidual 22 . Do mesmo modo, Nair (2018) em recente ensaio clínico randomizado com pacientes queimados, destacou-se o uso da microcorrente, uma vez que a utilização desse recurso, acarretou em redução da área da ferida acelerando a cicatrização 23 . Ainda, pacientes tratados com essa forma de estimulação elétrica apresentaram diminuição na área da ferida bem como na dor, além de redução da sintomatologia inflamatória juntamente a melhora na qualidade do sono, na marcha e na frequência de movimento 24 .…”