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Comparative Study
. 2025 Jun 1;38(5):246-250.
doi: 10.1097/ASW.0000000000000299. Epub 2025 Apr 1.

Healing Rate and Time to Closure of Venous Leg Ulcers: A Real-World Service Evaluation of Neuromuscular Electrostimulation as an Adjunct to Compression Therapy

Holly Murray  1 , Rochelle Duong, Duncan Shirreffs Bain
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Healing Rate and Time to Closure of Venous Leg Ulcers: A Real-World Service Evaluation of Neuromuscular Electrostimulation as an Adjunct to Compression Therapy

Holly Murray et al. Adv Skin Wound Care. .

Abstract

Objective: To perform a service evaluation of neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) as an adjunct to compression therapy, comparing the rate of wound margin advance and time to closure with a matched retrospective control group.

Methods: Fifteen patients with venous leg ulcers were prescribed NMES for 6 hours per day for 56 days or until wound closure (whichever occurred first), in addition to multilayer compression. Wounds were selected for size, with an inclusion criterion of a maximum of 12 cm 2 . Wound progress was compared with 15 retrospective control patients who were matched for ulcer size and duration.

Results: The retrospective group had a healing rate of 0.31 mm per week (95% CI, 29-37 mm/week), whereas the prospective compression plus NMES group had a healing rate of 0.56 mm per week (95% CI, 50-62 mm/week; P = .004). All wounds in both groups healed completely during the service evaluation. Mean time to closure for the retrospective group was 77 days (95% CI, 66-88 days), whereas the NMES group had a mean time to closure of 40 days (95% CI, 37-43 days; P = .005).

Conclusions: Adding NMES of the common peroneal nerve to a care bundle including multicomponent compression resulted in significantly faster wound margin advance and significantly less time to heal in comparison with retrospective matched controls. Future randomized controlled trials or self-controlled studies of this approach would be of great interest to inform clinical practice.

Keywords: compression; geko; healing; neuromuscular electrostimulation; venous leg ulcer.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
APPLICATION OF NEUROMUSCULAR ELECTROSTIMULATION
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
EFFECT OF NMES ON THE RATE OF WOUND MARGIN ADVANCE Abbreviations: NMES, neuromuscular electrostimulation; SoC, standard of care.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
EFFECT OF NMES ON THE TIME TO WOUND CLOSURE Abbreviations: NMES, neuromuscular electrostimulation; SoC, standard of care.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
KAPLAN-MEIER PLOT OF CUMULATIVE WOUNDS HEALED OVER TIME WITH AND WITHOUT NEUROMUSCULAR ELECTROSTIMULATION
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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