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CO 2 laser in decubitus ulcers: A comparative study
Author(s) -
Juri Hugo,
Palma José A.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/lsm.1900070403
Subject(s) - medicine , blood loss , surgery , significant difference , prospective cohort study , stage (stratigraphy) , paleontology , biology
This is a comparative study of conventional surgery (knife/electric knife) and CO 2 laser surgery and their effect on the outcome of stage III (including muscle) and stage IV (including bone) decubitus ulcers with an average area of 400 cm 2 . It is a prospective clinical study done with two groups of patients of similar age, economic and social background, as well with similar types of decubitus ulcers. Thirty patients were studied in each group. The study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in favor of the patients treated with CO 2 laser with regard to operative blood loss, 0.5 cc/cm 2 or 20% ( P < .01). infection rate (χ 2 test, P < .01), and difference (60%) in recovery time ( P < .01). This translated into an average saving of 23 hospitalization days per patient. It also showed a difference, though not statistically significant, favoring the group treated with laser with respect to survival and full recovery. This probably is attributable to the lowered blood loss and infection rate as well as improved operative time and analgesia.