Table 1.
Methods of HVPC electrical stimulations used in controlled randomized studies
| Kloth and Feedar18 | Griffin et al.19 | Polak et al.21 | Franek et al.22 | Peters et al.23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of wound | Pressure ulcers (IV stage) | Pressure ulcers (II-IV stage) | Venous leg ulcers | Venous leg ulcers | Diabetic foot ulcers |
| Total number of patients | 16 | 17 (only males) | 42 | 79 | 40 |
| Number of groups receiving ES | 1 group | 1 group | 1 group | 1 group | 1 group |
| Number of patients in the ES group(s) | 9 patients | 8 patients | 22 patients | 33 patients | 20 patients |
| Average patient age in the ES group(s) | 71 years | 32.5 years | 67 years | 68.1 years | 54.4 years |
| Treatment in the ES group(s) | HVPC | HVPC | HVPC+wet dressings | HVPC+wet dressings | HVPC+SWC |
| Treatment in the control group(s) | Sham HVPC | Sham HVPC | SWC | SWC | Sham HVPC+SWC |
| Unna's boot | |||||
| Characteristics of current | 100–175 V; 100 μs; 105 pps; 342 μC/s; | 200 V; 100 pps; 500 μC/s; | 100 V; 100 μs; 100 pps | 50 V; 100 μs; 80 pps per 10 min followed by 10 min of 8 pps | |
| Arrangement of the electrodes | Active on the PU; passive located proximally 15 cm from the PU | Active on the PU; passive located distally from the PU | Active on the wound and passive above the knee | Dacron-mesh silver nylon stocking on foot | |
| Polarity of the active electrode | Positive (polarity reversed if healing progress not observed) | Negative | Negative 1–3 weeks then positive | n/a | |
| Duration of the procedure | 45 min | 60 min | 50 min | 20 min | |
| Frequency of procedures | Once a day, 5 days a week | Once a day, 7 days a week | Once a day, 6 days a week | 8 times a day | |
| 7 days a week | |||||
| Period of treatment | 7.3 weeks | 20 successive days | 7 weeks | 12 weeks or until healing, whichever occurred first | |
| Number of hours per week | 3.75 h/a week | 7 h/a week | 5 h/a week | 18.7 h/a week | |
| Total ES time | 27.4 h | 20 h | 35 h | 224 h | |
| Houghton et al.24 | Franek et al.25 | Franek et al.26 | Houghton et al.27 | Franek et al.28 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of wound | Chronic leg ulcers | Venous leg ulcers | Venous leg ulcers | Pressure ulcers (II-IV stage) | Pressure ulcers (II-IV stage) |
| Total number of patients | 27 | 60 | 110 | 34 | 50 |
| Number of groups receiving ES | 1 group | 1 group | 2 groups | 1 group | 1 group |
| Number of patients in the ES group(s) | 14 patients | 30 patients | 28 patients | 16 patients | 26 patients |
| 28 patients | |||||
| Average patient age in the ES group(s) | 66.3 years | 60 years | 68 years | 50.3 years | 59.0 years |
| 61 years | |||||
| Treatment in the ES group(s) | HVPC+SWC | VS+HVPC | VS+HVPC | HVPC+SWC | HVPC+SWC |
| CT+HVPC | |||||
| Treatment in the control group(s) | Sham HVPC+SWC | VS+SWC | VS+SWC | SWC | SWC |
| CT+SWC | |||||
| Characteristics of current | 150 V; 100 μs; 100 pps | 100 V; 100 μs; 100 pps | 100 V; 100 μs; 100 pps | 50–150 V; 50 μs; 100 pps per 20 min followed by 20 min of 10 pps | 100 V; 100 μs; 100 pps |
| Arrangement of the electrodes | Active on the PU; passive located proximally 20 cm from the PU | Active on the wound and passive above the knee | Active on the PU; passive located at least 20 cm from the PU | ||
| Polarity of the active electrode | Negative | Negative 2 weeks, then positive | Initially negative, then reverse weekly | Negative 1–2 weeks, then positive | |
| Duration of the procedure | 45 min | 50 min | 50 min | 40 min | 50 min |
| Frequency of procedures | Once a day | Once a day | Once a day | 8 times a day | Once a day |
| 3 days a week | 6 days a week | 6 days a week | 7 days a week | 5 days a week | |
| Period of treatment | 4 weeks | 7 weeks | 7 weeks | 12 weeks or until healing, whichever occurred first | 6 weeks |
| Number of hours per week | 2.25 h/a week | 5 h/a week | 5 h/a week | Around 37 h/a week | 4.16 h/a week |
| Total ES time | 9 h | 35 h | 35 h | Around 443 h | 25 h |
HVPC, high-voltage pulsed current; ES, electrical stimulation; SWC, standard wound care; pps, pulses per second; VS, venous surgery; PU, pressure ulcer.