The objective of this study is to compare the reduction in wound surface areas between patients with diabetic ulcers utilizing Provant's pulsed radio frequency energy therapy (PRFE) as an adjunct to standardized basic wound care to those utilizing standardized basic wound care alone.
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are approximately 20.8 million people in the US with diabetes or 7% of the population (1). A significant number of the diabetic population is prone to pedal ulceration and estimates reveal that 15-20% of this population will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime. Treatment of diabetic foot ulcerations have posed a problem to healthcare providers for many years. The literature describes many different modalities for direct wound treatment strategies. Most of these treatments rely on the timely application of biological dressings, offloading of the wound, regular (and often inconvenient) visits to the doctor, and most important, compliance by the patient. It is not uncommon for such wounds to be present for greater than six months, despite use of debridement, off-loading and other basic wound care techniques, before presenting for advanced therapy. Provant has been selected for study because: * It is already indicated for the adjunctive palliative treatment of postoperative pain and edema in superficial soft tissue. * It is a non-invasive wound treatment system which utilizes a proprietary PRFE signal which is hypothesized to trigger the release of endogenous growth factors that induce mitosis through accelerating the cell cycle, using a Ca+2 mediated pathway. The result is a significant increase in the rate of cell replication. * It has also been shown that PRFE triggers a genetic sequence or cascade of 'wound repair' genes critical for the four stages of wound healing: inflammation, granulation, epithelialization, and remodeling. * It has been utilized in the VA Health System since 2004 with no serious adverse events attributable to the device. This study will assess as an endpoints: * Primary - the incidence of wounds reaching complete closure, and * Secondary - the time to complete wound closure percentage reduction in wound area, percentage reduction in wound volume, and rate of healing mm2/day and mm3/day.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
8
The Provant Wound Therapy System is a safe adjuvant non-invasive medical device.
Winston - Salem Outpatient Clinic
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
The Incidence of Wounds Reaching Complete Closure
Time frame: approximate one year
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