Noncontact ultrasound therapy for adjunctive treatment of nonhealing wounds: retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The optimal adjunctive therapy for wounds that fail to heal despite conventional wound care has not been established. Clinical evidence suggests improved healing in wounds treated with noncontact ultrasound therapy (NCUT). Although existing evidence supports the use of NCUT for enhanced wound healing, the total number of participants studied remains modest. This study was conducted to assess the impact of adjunctive NCUT on the healing of wounds that fail to progress to healing with conventional wound care alone.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of charts for 76 patients who had received outpatient wound care at a single center between January 2005 and December 2006 and who were treated with NCUT as an adjunct to conventional wound care was conducted. All wound care interventions used during the study period were assessed. The primary effectiveness endpoint was the percentage of change in wound area from the start of NCUT to the end of NCUT.

RESULTS: Noncontact ultrasound was administered for a mean of 5.1 minutes per session for a mean of 2.3 times per week. The median duration of therapy was 4.3 weeks. The median wound area was reduced by 79% from the start of NCUT to the end of NCUT (from 2.5 to 0.6 cm(2)). The proportion of participants with greater than 75% granulation tissue increased from 32% before NCUT to 46% after NCUT.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The single-arm, retrospective design did not allow for comparative assessments of the efficacies of noncontact ultrasound and other wound care interventions. The use of adjunctive NCUT appears to improve healing in wounds that fail to heal with conventional wound care alone.