Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 26, 2023; 11(30): 7277-7283
Published online Oct 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i30.7277
Efficacy of lidocaine wet compress combined with red-light irradiation for chronic wounds
Man-Zhen Bao, Lian-Bang Zhou, Ling Zhao, Hui Zhang, Yuan Li, Li Yang, An-Ting Tai
Man-Zhen Bao, Department of Nursing, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China
Lian-Bang Zhou, Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China
Ling Zhao, Department of General Surgery, Huaibei People’s Hospital of Anhui Province, Huaibei 235000, Anhui Province, China
Hui Zhang, Yuan Li, Li Yang, An-Ting Tai, Department of Outpatient, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Bao MZ and Zhou LB proposed the concept of this study; Zhao L and Zhang H contributed to data collection; Li Y and Yang L contributed to formal analysis; Tai AT and Bao MZ participated in the survey; Zhou LB, Li Y, and Yang L contributed to these methods; Zhao L, Zhang H, and Bao MZ guided the research; Tai AT, Bao MZ, and Zhou LB validated this study; Zhao L and Bao MZ contributed to the visualization of this study; Bao MZ and Zhou LB have prepared the first draft; Zhao L, Zhang H, Li Y, Yang L, and Tai AT jointly reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Supported by Scientific Research Fund of Anhui Medical University, No. 2020xkj197.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been reviewed and verified by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lian-Bang Zhou, MS, Attending Doctor, Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 678 Furong Road, Economic Development Zone, Hefei 230601, Anhui Province, China. zhoulianbang@163.com
Received: August 3, 2023
Peer-review started: August 3, 2023
First decision: August 16, 2023
Revised: August 24, 2023
Accepted: September 28, 2023
Article in press: September 28, 2023
Published online: October 26, 2023
Processing time: 82 Days and 23.6 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Chronic wounds, characterized by a failure to progress through normal healing phases, represent a substantial burden on healthcare systems and patients’ quality of life. Traditional wound care is often painful and may involve frequent dressing changes. Lidocaine wet compression (LWC) and red-light irradiation (RLI) are known for their potential to manage pain and promote healing in chronic wounds.

Research motivation

The need to enhance wound healing, reduce pain during treatment, and decrease the frequency of dressing changes motivated this research. The key problem addressed is the persistent pain and slow healing associated with chronic wounds, and solving this problem has significant implications for improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

Research objectives

The main objective was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of combining LWC with RLI in treating chronic wounds. Realizing this objective is pivotal for introducing new, effective treatment modalities in wound care management, potentially changing clinical practices.

Research methods

The study involved 150 patients with chronic wounds, randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group received LWC+RLI treatment from the second dressing change onward. Pain levels, the number of dressing changes, and the degree of wound healing were systematically assessed and compared between the groups.

Research results

The experimental group reported significantly less pain during the second and third dressing changes compared to the control group. The overall rate of effective wound healing on day 28 was significantly higher in the experimental group. The experimental group required significantly fewer dressing changes within the 28-d period. These findings contribute to the understanding of the combined effects of LWC and RLI on chronic wounds, opening avenues for further research and clinical applications.

Research conclusions

This study unveils new findings on the effectiveness of combining LWC with RLI in managing chronic wounds, highlighting its potential in reducing pain, promoting wound healing, and decreasing the frequency of dressing changes. It provides a holistic view of current knowledge in chronic wound management and offers original insights into the synergistic effects of LWC and RLI. The study implies that the integration of LWC+RLI could be a groundbreaking approach in clinical practices for treating chronic wounds in the future.

Research perspectives

This study serves as a learning cornerstone, suggesting that a combined approach in chronic wound management can yield superior outcomes. Future research should focus on refining this combined approach, exploring its long-term effects, and validating its efficacy across diverse patient populations and wound types. Developing optimized protocols and exploring the economic aspects of implementing this combined approach in clinical settings should be the direction for upcoming research.