Seasonal variations in the onset and healing rates of venous leg ulcers

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Simka

Objectives As many vascular pathologies exhibit circannual fluctuation, the aim of this study was to assess the chronobiological features of venous ulcers. Methods Based on a retrospective survey of the case histories of 391 venous ulcer patients, the rates of ulcer onset and healing in each month were analysed statistically; a time series was constructed to evaluate the seasonality. Results There was a significantly higher frequency of ulcer onset during the warmer part of the year (April–October), and onset showed strong seasonality. Healing rates were also unequally and statistically significantly distributed throughout the year: ulcers that appeared or that were treated with specialized treatment in the winter or summer healed slower in comparison to ulcers that began in the spring or autumn. Conclusions Venous ulcers exhibit circannual fluctuations in their onset and healing rates. Hypothetically, in addition to exacerbation of chronic venous insufficiency, seasonal variations in immune system activity might potentially be responsible for this phenomenon.

Phlebologie ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (03) ◽  
pp. 135-139
Author(s):  
N. Morrison

SummaryIn this brief overview I will progress from superficial venous intervention for venous leg ulcers (VLU) to perforator intervention and finally to deep venous intervention. But first there are a number of concepts that must be accepted. We know that 70 % of patients with leg ulcers have a venous component (1), and in at least 40 % of those patients, ulcers will be caused by superficial venous insufficiency alone or in combination with perforator incompetence (2). Such patients will likely benefit from treatment of their superficial venous disease.One of the most important but often overlooked factors in venous ulcers is calf pump failure. Simka has reported that 45 % of patients with venous ulcers have calf pump failure (3).Thorough duplex evaluation of the venous leg ulcer patient is paramount for accurate diagnosis, the differentiation between arterial and venous components (purely arterial, venous, or mixed etiology), and the obstructive and/or incompetent nature and location of venous lesions. In obstructive venous lesions the degree of obstruction as well as how proximal the lesion extends must be known. For venous insufficiency the location (deep and/or superficial venous system) and the extent (segmental or axial) will help determine how much the incompetence contributes to the overall ulcer condition, and what lesions can be safely treated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (Sup9) ◽  
pp. S14-S20
Author(s):  
Georgeanne Cornell ◽  
Martin Kade Hardy ◽  
Jonathon Wilson

Soft tissue ulceration resulting from chronic venous insufficiency is a common condition that requires standardised long-term therapy, which has been thoroughly established. We report a patient with a five-year history of persistent venous stasis ulcers despite treatment consistent with traditional wound care. Resolution of the ulcers began only upon deviation from conventional therapy. This report considers non-standard treatments in patients with venous ulcers that do not progress.


1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Gliński ◽  
B. Chodynicka ◽  
J. Roszkiewicz ◽  
T. Bogdanowski ◽  
B. Lecewicz-Toruń ◽  
...  

Objective: To determine the increase in healing rate of venous ulcer in patients receiving a micronised purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF) as supplementation to standard local care. Design: A randomised, open, controlled, multicentre study. Setting: Departments of Dermatology and University Outpatients Clinics. Patients: One hundred and forty patients with chronic venous insufficiency and venous ulcers. Intervention: Patients received standard compressive therapy plus external treatment alone or 2 tablets of MPFF daily in addition to the above treatment for 24 weeks. Main outcome measure: Healing of ulcers and their reduction in size after 24 weeks of treatment. Results: The percentage of patients whose ulcers healed completely was found to be markedly higher in those receiving MPFF in addition to standard external and compressive treatment than in those treated with conventional therapy alone (46.5% vs 27.5%; p<0.05, OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–4.6). Ulcers with diameters <3 cm were cured in 71% of patients in the MPFF group and in 50% of patients in the control group, whereas ulcers between 3 and 6 cm in diameter were cured in 60% and 32% of patients ( p<0.05), respectively. The mean reduction in ulcer size was also found to be greater in patients treated with MPFF (80%) than in the control group (65%) ( p<0.05). The cost-effectiveness ratio (cost per healed ulcer) in the MPFF group was €1026.2 compared with €1871.8 in the control group. Conclusions: These results indicate that MPFF significantly improves the cure rate in patients with chronic venous insufficiency.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 197-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
J T Christenson ◽  
C Prins ◽  
G Gemayel

Objective Increased intramuscular and subcutaneous tissue pressures are often found in patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency venous ulcer disease. Additional subcutaneous para-tibial fasciotomy promotes early ulcer healing. This study evaluates the mid-term effect of eradication of superficial reflux with additional fasciotomy in patients with increased tissue pressures. Method Between January 2006 and June 2009, 58 patients underwent fasciotomy. Tissue pressures (intramuscular and subcutaneous) were measured. Sixty-nine limbs with 91 venous ulcers were treated. Mean duration of the venous ulcer was 3.4 years. Underlying disease was post-thrombotic syndrome (PT) in 19 patients (33%, 24 limbs, 27 ulcers) and non-post-thrombotic (non-PT) severe chronic venous insufficiency in 39 (67%, 45 limbs, 64 ulcers). All patients were C6 at the time of surgery. Preoperative tissue pressures were 23.5 ± 6.1 mmHg (intramuscularly) and 9.8 ± 3.2 mmHg (subcutaneously). Results Ninety ulcers (99%) healed postoperatively (42 with and 48 without skin grafting). Tissue pressures significantly decreased following surgery and remained low at three months postoperatively. Ten ulcers in six patients recurred six to 20 months postoperatively (11%), resulting in 86.4 actuarial freedom from venous ulcer recurrence at three years following surgery. Four patients (1 non-PT and 3 PT) had re-fasciotomy; all healed initially but two ulcers (2 patients, PT) recurred at 11 and 12 months. Those patients underwent re-fasciotomy, one healed and one recurred six months later. Conclusion Eradication of superficial reflux with additional subcutaneous fasciotomy for chronic and recurrent venous ulcer improves ulcer healing or success of skin grafting. Mid-term results are excellent particularly in patients with non-PT disease. Recurrence is more frequently seen in patients with PT syndrome. In patients with ulcer recurrence and high tissue pressures, re-fasciotomy can be helpful to promote healing, particularly in patients with primary venous disease.


Author(s):  
V.B. Binya ◽  
M.M.Abdul Shukkoor ◽  
N.H.Subi

Acharya Susrutha has described about the Samprapthi (pathogenesis) of Vrana (ulcer) in detail in Susrutha samhitha sutrasthana. All the ulcers like arterial ulcer, venous ulcer, trophic ulcer etc can be considered as Vrana. But no specific term has been made by Acharya for venous ulcer. Venous ulcers are the wounds occurring as a result of inappropriate functioning of venous valves or of venous obstruction by thrombus. While going through the characteristics of Dushtavrana (chronic ulcer) like Krishna/ Suklavarna (hyper/hypopigmented areas), Deerghakaala anubandhitwa (chronicity), Durgandhitha pooyasraava (foul smelling serous/ purulent discharge) etc, venous ulcer can be considered as a dushtavrana, particularly in its chronic stage. Sira (vein) is the deranged anatomical component in case of venous insufficiency as well as venous ulcer and this Sira has been told as one of the Vranasthaanaas (sites of Vrana) by Susrutha. Hence the term Sirajadushtavrana can be attributed to venous ulcer. Aetiopathogenesis of venous ulcer has striking similarities with that of Dushtavrana. In this article, a gentle attempt has been made to correlate the aetiopathogenesis of venous ulcer with the specific characteristics said in each stage of Shadkriyakala (aetiopathogenesis) of Vranasamprapthi (ulcer) as told by Acharya.


Author(s):  
Damayandhi Kaliyaperumal ◽  
Govardhan Jagadeeshkumar ◽  
Preethi Kanagaraj ◽  
Vijayabhaskar Chandran

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Leg ulcer is a common ailment of elderly presented with complex dermatological conditions. It may occur as a sequel to infection, malignancy, adverse drug reaction, trauma and hematological disorders. The paucity of data on the prevalence and outcome of the chronic leg ulcer in India served as a basis to conduct this clinico-epidemiological study. To study the prevalence of leg ulcers in a tertiary care referral hospital.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, 100 patients with leg ulcer attending the dermatology OPD at Madras medical college, Chennai, were enrolled after obtaining their consent. Detailed case history of each patient was recorded. Routine clinical investigations, Doppler study and culture were done to detect associated complications. In this study, 58 males and 42 females, with the mean age of 42.01±14.302 years, mean duration of leg ulcer of 17.79±29.87 months were recruited.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Venous ulcer (37%) was the most prevalent type of leg ulcer recorded in our study. Doppler study revealed that the 31% of venous ulcers patients developed perforator incompetence.  <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> was the major microbe isolated from the lesions (27%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Chronic leg ulcers are very common in elderly patients and venous ulcer being the most common. Doppler is an effective tool for the assessment of disease severity of venous ulcers and aided in offering the adequate management of the disease. Diagnosis of underlying causes such as pyoderma gangrenosum, autoimmune diseases, malignancies and bacterial culture from the wound will be helpful for the management of the disease.</p>


Author(s):  
Johana Enyd Cifuentes Rodriguez ◽  
Sandra Guerrero Gamboa

Objectives: To identify psychosocial factors present in patients with venous leg ulcers and the association that these factors have in the healing of venous leg ulcers. Methods: An integrative review of the quantitative studies in MEDLINE, Scielo and Cochrane Library databases, between 2008 and 2019, using the keywords, psychosocial factors, venous ulcer, wound healing, anxiety and depression in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Results: sixteen studies were included. The psychosocial factors present in patients with venous ulcers were depression, anxiety, feelings of helplessness, subjective well-being, self-esteem, loneliness and spirituality. Stress, a negative perception of venous ulcer, living alone and severe experience of symptoms such as pain and depression have statistically significant associations with longer periods of healing. Conclusions: Depression is one of the most frequently measured factors and present in this population. The available evidence on the association of psychosocial factors with the healing of venous ulcers is low.


Phlebologie ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (04) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Mattaliano ◽  
G. Mosti ◽  
V. Gasbarro ◽  
M. Bucalossi ◽  
W. Blättler ◽  
...  

SummaryTraditionally, venous leg ulcers are treated with firm nonelastic bandages. Medical compression stockings are not the first choice although comparative studies found them equally effective or superior to bandages. Patients, methods: We report on a multi-center randomized trial with 60 patients treated with either short stretch multi-layer bandages or a two-stocking system (Sigvaris® Ulcer X® kit). Three patients have been excluded because their ankle movement was restricted to the extent that they could not put on the stockings and 1 patient withdrew consent. Patient characteristics and ulcer features were evenly distributed. The proportion of ulcers healed within 4 months and the time to completion of healing were recorded. Subjective appraisal was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Results: Complete wound closure was achieved in 70.0% (21 of 30) with bandages and in 96.2% (25 of 26) with the ulcer X kit (p = 0.011). Ulcers with a diameter of up to about 4cm healed twice as rapidly, the larger ones as fast with the stocking kit as with bandages. The sum of problems encountered with bandages was significantly greater than that observed with the stocking kit (p < 0.0001). Pain at night and in the morning was absent with stockings but reported by 40% and 20% in the bandage group, respectively. The cardinal features associated with delayed or absent healing were ulcer size and pain. Conclusions: Common venous ulcers can readily be treated with the ulcer X compression kit provided the ankle movement allow its painless donning. Bandages, even when applied by the most experienced staff are less effective and cause more problems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-77
Author(s):  
Victoria Team ◽  
Georgina Gethin ◽  
John D Ivory ◽  
Kimberley Crawford ◽  
Ayoub Bouguettaya ◽  
...  

Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are a significant complication amongst persons with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) that frequently follow a cycle of healing and recurrence. Current clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) recommend applying below knee compression to improve VLU healing. Compression could be applied if the Ankle Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI) rules out significant arterial disease, as sufficient peripheral arterial circulation is necessary to ensure safe compression use. We conducted a content analysis of 13 global CPGs on the accuracy of recommendations related to ABPI and compression application. Eight CPGs indicated that compression is recommended when the ABPI is between 0.8 and 1.2 mmHg. However, this review found there is disagreement between 13 global VLU CPGs, with a lack of clarity on whether or not compression is indicated for patients with ABPIs between 0.6 and 0.8 mmHg. Some CPGs recommend reduced compression for treatment of VLUs, while others do not recommend any type of compression at all. This has implications for when it is safe to apply compression, and the inconsistency in evidence indicates that specialist advice may be required at levels beyond the ABPI “safe” range listed above.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (31) ◽  
pp. 96-104
Author(s):  
Caroline Muller Almeida ◽  
Suelen Elias da Veiga Freitas ◽  
Aline Affonso Luna ◽  
Cintia Silva Fassarella ◽  
Priscilla Alfradique de Souza

Identificar e analisar evidências científicas adotadas na prevenção de recidivas de úlceras venosas. Trata-se de um estudo de revisão integrativa da literatura, descritivo, de abordagem qualitativa, realizado entre outubro e novembro de 2017, a partir de consulta de bases de dados nacionais e internacionais. Os descritores utilizados foram “úlcera venosa”, “úlcera varicosa”, “recidiva” associados à palavra chave “prevenção”. Recorreu análise temática de conteúdo, emergindo duas categorias. Dos 305 artigos encontrados, 10 foram selecionados atendendo aos critérios de seleção. As principais evidências observadas foram “medidas para a prevenção de recidivas de úlceras venosas” e “facilidades e dificuldades da implementação de medidas preventivas”. Evidenciou-se que as medidas são diversas para prevenir as recidivas de úlcera venosa, no entanto, a adesão ainda é fator limitador as práticas devido à complexidade que a envolve.Descritores: Úlcera Venosa, Recidiva, Prevenção. Measures to prevent recurrence of venous ulcersAbstract: To identify and analyze scientific evidences adopted in the prevention of venous ulcers recurrences. It is an integrative literature review study, descriptive, with a qualitative approach, carried out between October and November 2017, based on consultation of national and international databases. The descriptors used were "venous ulcer", "varicose ulcer", "relapse" associated with the key word "prevention". It resorted to thematic analysis of content, emerging two categories. Of the 305 articles found, 10 were selected according to the selection criteria. The main evidences observed were "measures for the prevention of relapses of venous ulcers" and "facilities and difficulties of the implementation of preventive measures". It was evidenced that the measures are diverse to prevent the recurrence of venous ulcer, however, adherence is still a limiting factor to the practices due to the complexity that involves it.Descriptors: Venous Ulcer, Relapse, Prevention. Medidas para la prevención de recidivas de úlceras venosasResumen: Identificar y analizar evidencias científicas adoptadas en la prevención de recidivas de úlceras venosas. Este es un estudio integrador de revisión de literatura, descriptivo, con un enfoque cualitativo, realizado entre octubre y noviembre de 2017, basado en la consulta de bases de datos nacionales e internacionales. Los descriptores utilizados fueron "úlcera venosa", "úlcera varicosa", "recidiva" asociados a la palabra clave "prevención". Se recurrió análisis temático de contenido, emergiendo dos categorías. De los 305 artículos encontrados, 10 fueron seleccionados atendiendo a los criterios de selección. Las principales evidencias observadas fueron "medidas para la prevención de recidivas de úlceras venosas" y "facilidades y dificultades de la aplicación de medidas preventivas". Se evidenció que las medidas son diversas para prevenir las recidivas de úlcera venosa, sin embargo, la adherencia todavía es factor limitante en las prácticas debido a la complejidad que la envuelve.Descriptores: Úlcera Varicosa, Recurrencia, Prevención.


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