Open AccessPulsed Radio Frequency Energy in the Treatment of Painful Chronic Cutaneous Wounds: A Report of Two Cases
Author(s) -
Maier Michael
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01081.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pulsed radiofrequency , surgery , anesthesia , pain relief
Setting. Chronic cutaneous wounds may cause considerable pain, often affecting patient compliance with necessary treatment protocols. Patients. Two patients are presented who were unable to comply with compression therapy because of severe wound pain. Intervention. Adjunctive pulsed radio frequency energy was administered for 30 minutes twice daily through an applicator pad placed directly on the dressing over the wound area. Results. Both patients reported immediate, marked pain reduction, allowing compression therapy. The ulcers healed completely within 3 weeks for patient 1 and 28 weeks for patient 2. Conclusions. Further investigation into the efficacy of pulsed radio frequency energy for the treatment of painful wounds is warranted.