This website is intended for healthcare professionals

Skip main navigation
Search
Quick Search in Books
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Quick Search
Advanced Search
Practice

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

    Published Online:11 Apr 2019https://doi.org/10.12968/jowc.2019.28.4.214

    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.

    References

    • 1 Kao CC, Garner WL. Acute burns. Plast Reconstr Surg 2000; 105(7):2482–2492 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 2 Khalaf M, Ibrahim Z, Hassan M. Does microamperage stimulation intensity affect rate of wound healing of burned patients? Bull Fac Ph Th Cairo Univ 2011;16(2):79–85 Google Scholar
    • 3 Church D, Elsayed S, Reid O et al.. Burn wound infections. Clin Microbiol Rev 2006; 19(2):403–434 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 4 Kloth LC. Electrical stimulation for wound healing: a review of evidence from in vitro studies, animal experiments, and clinical trials. Int J Low Extrem Wounds 2005; 4(1):23–44 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 5 Maiya GA, Kumar P, Rao L. Effect of low intensity helium-neon (He-Ne) laser irradiation on diabetic wound healing dynamics. Photomed Laser Surg 2005; 23(2):187–190 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 6 Meyerholz DK, Piester TL, Sokolich JC et al.. Morphological parameters for assessment of burn severity in an acute burn injury rat model. Int J Exp Pathol 2009; 90(1):26–33 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 7 Okuni I. [Phototherapy in rehabilitation medicine]. Masui 2012; 61(7):700–705 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 8 Rut W. Topical negative pressure. World Wide Wounds 2010;1(3):20–23 Google Scholar
    • 9 Beitz JM, Bates-Jensen B. Algorithms, critical pathways, and computer software for wound care: contemporary status and future potential. Ostomy Wound Manage 2001; 47(4):33–40 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 10 Gray M, Peirce B. Is negative pressure wound therapy effective for the management of chronic wounds? J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs 2004; 31(3):101–105 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 11 Poltawski L, Watson T. Bioelectricity and microcurrent therapy for tissue healing. Phys Ther Rev 2009; 14(2):104–114 Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 12 Bayat M, Asgari-Moghadam Z, Maroufi M et al.. Experimental wound healing using microamperage electrical stimulation in rabbits. J Rehabil Res Dev 2006; 43(2):219–226 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 13 Kloth LC, McCulloch JM. Promotion of wound healing with electrical stimulation. Adv Wound Care 1996; 9(5):42–45 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 14 Isenberg HD. Clinical microbiology procedures handbook: volume 2. ASM Press, 2004 Google Scholar
    • 15 Mendonça FA, Passarini Junior JR, Esquisatto MA et al.. Effects of the application of Aloe vera (L.) and microcurrent on the healing of wounds surgically induced in Wistar rats. Acta Cir Bras 2009; 24(2):150–155 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 16 Chan HK, Fung DT, Ng GY. Effects of low-voltage microamperage stimulation on tendon healing in rats. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2007; 37(7):399–403 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 17 Owoeye I, Spielholz NI, Fetto J, Nelson AJ. Low-intensity pulsed galvanic current and the healing of tenotomized rat achilles tendons: preliminary report using load-to-breaking measurements. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1987; 68(7):415–418 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 18 Rafla K, Tredget EE. Infection control in the burn unit. Burns 2011; 37(1):5–15 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 19 Demling RH, DeSanti L. Closure of partial-thickness facial burns with a bioactive skin substitute in the major burn population decreases the cost of care and improve outcome. Ostomy Wound Manage 2002; 14(6):230–234 Google Scholar
    • 20 Banwell PE. Topical negative pressure wound therapy: advances in burn wound management. Ostomy Wound Manage 2004; 50(11A Suppl):9S–14S Medline, Google Scholar
    • 21 Pham C, Middleton P, Maddern G. Vacuum-assisted closure for the management of wounds: an accelerated systematic review. Australian Safety & Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures – Surgical (ASERNIPS-S) 2003; 37 Google Scholar
    • 22 Liu Y, Zhou Q, Wang Y et al.. Negative pressure wound therapy decreases mortality in a murine model of burn-wound sepsis involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. PLoS One 2014; 9(2):e90494 Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 23 Wang G, Li Z, Li T et al.. Negative-pressure wound therapy in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection model. BioMed Research International 2018; 9496183 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 24 Azzopardi EA, Boyce DE, Dickson WA et al.. Application of topical negative pressure (vacuum-assisted closure) to split-thickness skin grafts: a structured evidence-based review. Ann Plast Surg 2013; 70(1):23–29 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 25 Li J, Topaz M, Tan H et al.. Treatment of infected soft tissue blast injury in swine by regulated negative pressure wound therapy. Ann Surg 2013; 257(2):335–344 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 26 Morykwas MJ, Argenta LC, Shelton-Brown EI, McGuirt W. Vacuumassisted closure: a new method for wound control and treatment: animal studies and basic foundation. Ann Plast Surg 1997; 38(6):553–562 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 27 Braakenburg A, Obdeijn MC, Feitz R et al.. The clinical efficacy and cost effectiveness of the vacuum-assisted closure technique in the management of acute and chronic wounds: a randomized controlled trial. Plast Reconstr Surg 2006; 118(2):390–397 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 28 Mouës CM, Vos MC, van den Bemd GJ et al.. Bacterial load in relation to vacuum-assisted closure wound therapy: a prospective randomized trial. Wound Repair Regen 2004; 12(1):11–17 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 29 Dumville JC, Munson C. Negative pressure wound therapy for partial-thickness burns. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012; 12:CD006215 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 30 Boone D, Braitman E, Gentics C et al.. Bacterial burden and wound outcomes as influenced by negative pressure wound therapy. Wounds 2010; 22(2):32–37 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 31 Chen J, Zhou JJ, Su GL et al.. [Evaluation of the clinical curative effect of applying vacuum sealing drainage therapy in treating deep partial-thickness burn wound at the initial stage]. Zhonghua Shao Shang Za Zhi 2010; 26(3):170–174 Medline, Google Scholar
    • 32 Angeloti PF, Santos GMT, Mendonça FAS et al.. Antimicrobial effect of the microcurrent application after burns of 2° degree induced in the skin of the back in Wistar mice. Discovery Science 2013; 5(14):37–39 Google Scholar
    • 33 Ahmed AF, Elgayed SSA, Ibrahim IM. Polarity effect of microcurrent electrical stimulation on tendon healing: biomechanical and histopathological studies. J Advanced Research 2012; 3(2):109–117 Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 34 Huckfeldt R, Flick AB, Mikkelson D et al.. Wound closure after split-thickness skin grafting is accelerated with the use of continuous direct anodal microcurrent applied to silver nylon wound contact dressings. J Burn Care Res 2007; 28(5):703–707 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 35 Belli M, Fernandes CR, Grosso Neves ML et al.. Application of 670 nm In GaP laser and microcurrent favors the healing of second-degree burns in Wistar rats. Laser Phys 2015; 25(2):025602 Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 36 Chiarotto GB, Neves LM, Esquisatto MA et al.. Effects of laser irradiation (670-nm InGaP and 830-nm GaAlAs) on burn of second-degree in rats. Lasers Med Sci 2014; 29(5):1685–1693 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 37 Malin EW, Galin CM, Lairet KF et al.. Silver-coated nylon dressing plus active DC microcurrent for healing of autogenous skin donor sites. Ann Plast Surg 2013; 71(5):481–484 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar