Open AccessThe analgesic effect of electrostimulation ( WoundEL ® ) in the treatment of leg ulcers
Author(s) -
Leloup Pauline,
Toussaint Pascal,
Lembelembe JeanPaul,
Célérier Philippe,
Maillard Hervé
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international wound journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1742-481X
pISSN - 1742-4801
DOI - 10.1111/iwj.12211
Subject(s) - medicine , analgesic , anesthesia , amputation , venous leg ulcer , surgery , pain score
This study aims to demonstrate the analgesic efficacy of electrostimulation ( ES ), a recognised treatment for leg ulcers. Patients treated by ES for leg ulcers between 2011 and 2013 were included in the study. The pain score obtained with the numerical rating scale ( NRS ) was reported before the start of the ES ( D0 ), after 3 days ( D3 ) and 1 week following treatment initialisation. The analgesic treatments ( AT ) were reported at each assessment. Seventy‐three patients were included (mean age 75·19 years): 31 venous leg ulcers, 21 mixed venous leg ulcers, 2 arterial ulcers, 17 hypertensive ischaemic ulcers, 1 Hydrea ® ‐induced ulcer and an amputation stump ulcer. The NRS at D0 was on average 5·3 (median = 6) while it was 2·2 at D7 (median = 2), that is P < 0·001. The results were also significant between D0 and D3 ( P < 0·001). A decrease in the number of AT used was observed between D0 (2·0 AT per patient on average) and D7 (1·7 AT on average) ( P < 0·001). We also observed a decrease in the consumption of grade 3 analgesics on D0 and D7 ( P = 0·03). This study demonstrates the rapid analgesic efficacy of ES in leg ulcers, with a clear impact on the NRS score and especially on the decrease in analgesic consumption.