1. Acetic acid iontophoresis for recalcitrant scarring in post-operative hand patients.
- Author
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Dardas, Agnes, Bae, Gordon H., Yule, Arthur, Wright, Judith, Straughn, Noreen, and Day, Charles S.
- Subjects
IONTOPHORESIS ,ACETIC acid ,SCARS ,COLLAGEN ,COMPARATIVE studies ,FISHER exact test ,HAND surgery ,RANGE of motion of joints ,LONGITUDINAL method ,HEALTH outcome assessment ,STATISTICAL hypothesis testing ,STATISTICS ,T-test (Statistics) ,TENOSYNOVITIS ,TREATMENT effectiveness ,RETROSPECTIVE studies ,TREATMENT duration ,FUNCTIONAL assessment ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,REHABILITATION ,THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
Study design: Retrospective cohort comparison. Introduction: Using acetic acid iontophoresis (AAI) as a treatment modality significantly improved the functionality of hand in patients with recalcitrant scarring. Methods: Open trigger finger release patients followed up exclusively at a hand clinic between 2009 and 2011 were analyzed. Group I recovered optimal total active range of motion (TAM) after 14 standard of care (SOC) therapy sessions but Group II (10 digits) could only reach optimal recovery after 7 additional AAI sessions. Results: After SOC therapy, Group I's TAM recovery plateaued at 245 and Group II's at 219 (p < 0.01). After undergoing AAI, the TAM of Group II increased from 219 to 239 (p < 0.01). Discussion: Clinical studies suggest that AAI can modify collagen structure in scars. AAI could be a novel non-surgical treatment for restoring functionality to areas affected by difficult, recalcitrant scars. Conclusion: AAI significantly improved the TAM of hand surgical patients who could not recover optimally with SOC therapy alone. Level of evidence: Level 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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