Therapeutic ultrasound for venous leg ulcers

Ultrasound therapy is commonly used with the aim of improving the healing of chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers and venous leg ulcers.

To assess the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

The Cochrane Wounds Group search strategy was used (see Scope) to search for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of therapeutic ultrasound for the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

Randomised controlled trials comparing therapeutic ultrasound with sham ultrasound, or other (standard) treatment

Results of searches were scrutinised by one reviewer (and checked by a second) to identify possible RCTs and full reports of these were obtained. Details of eligible studies were extracted and summarised using a data extraction sheet. Attempts were made to obtain missing data by contacting authors. Data extraction was checked by a second reviewer.

A total of seven eligible RCTs were identified. Four trials compared ultrasound therapy with sham ultrasound, three trials compared ultrasound therapy with standard treatment. None of the trials found a difference in healing rates between any of the therapies, though it is noteworthy that the direction of treatment effect was consistently in favour of ultrasound (though this did not reach significance in the individual studies).

There is no good evidence of a benefit of ultrasound therapy in the healing of venous leg ulcers.