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Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Infected Leg Ulcers—A Pilot Study

Authors :
Magdalena Krupka
Andrzej Bożek
Dorota Bartusik-Aebisher
Grzegorz Cieślar
Aleksandra Kawczyk-Krupka
Source :
Antibiotics, Vol 10, Iss 5, p 506 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Chronic and infected leg ulcers (LUs) are painful, debilitating, resistant to antibiotics, and immensely reduce a patient’s quality of life. The purpose of our study was to demonstrate the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of infected chronic LUs. Patients were randomized into two experimental groups: the first group received 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) (10 patients), and the second group of 10 patients received local octenidine dihydrochloride (Octenilin gel) exposed to a placebo light source with an inserted filter that mimiced red light. In the PDT group, we used 20% ALA topically applied for 4 hrs and irradiation from a Diomed laser source with a wavelength of 630 nm at a fluency of 80 J/cm2. ALA-PDT was performed 10 times during a 14-day hospitalization in 10 patients of both sexes aged 40–85 years with chronic leg ulcers. Treatments were carried out at 3-week intervals for 3–5 cycles. At 8-month follow-up with the PDT group, complete remission (CR) was obtained in four patients (40%), partial response (>50% reduction in ulcer diameter) in four patients (40%), and no response in two patients (20%) who additionally developed deterioration of the local condition with swelling, erythema, and inflammation. To assess the degree of pain during the trials, we used a numeric rating scale (NRS). From the preliminary results obtained, we concluded that PDT can be used to treat leg ulcers as a minimally invasive and effective method with no serious side effects, although further studies on a larger group of patients with LUs are warranted.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20796382
Volume :
10
Issue :
5
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Antibiotics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0ed6f115a5094876a97b8478441a6e6a
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10050506