Table 1.

Low-intensity direct current randomized-controlled trials studies597^*

Low-intensity direct current RCT studies	Wolcot et al18	Carley & Wainapel22
Sample	n = 83	n = 30
Type of wound	Ischemic wounds	Ulcers over sacrum or lower limb (below knee)
Groups	Treatment group (1 group). Eight patients presented with bilateral wounds. One side was treated with LIDC (n = 8) and the other received standard care (n = 8)	Electrical stimulation treatment along with conventional treatment group (n = 15) or conventional treatment group (n = 15)
Treatment	Intensity: 200–800 μA. Three sessions/d, 2 h per session. Polarity was reversed provided that no infection was present on day 3. Treatment was continued to full wound healing	Intensity: 200–800 μA for 2 h, twice daily, 2- to 4-h interval, 5 d/wk, for 5 weeks. Day 3: polarity was reversed unless infection appeared. Polarity was reversed on plateaus
Electrode placement	Negative electrode was placed on the wound and the positive electrode proximally	Negative electrode placed on wound and positive electrode proximally
Results	45% of wounds healed completely (mean 9.6 weeks). The rest reached partial healing up to 64.7% over 7.2 weeks	Wound healing was accelerated 1.5–2.5 times in the LIC group compared with the conventional treatment group, and less debridement, less discomfort, and resilient healed scars were observed
	Bilateral ulcer group: 6 of 8 LIDC-treated ulcers completely healed, 2 of 8 healed up to 70%. Other side: 3 of 8 ulcers did not heal, 3 of 8 healed less than 50%, and 2 of 8 healed up to 75%.

^*RCT indicates randomized-controlled trials; LIDC, low-intensity direct current.