Health-related quality of life in venous leg ulcer patients successfully treated with Apligraf: a pilot study

Apligraf (Graftskin) is a bilayered, living human skin construct that is indicated for use with standard therapeutic compression for the treatment of noninfected partial- and full-thickness skin ulcers due to venous insufficiency of greater than 1-month duration that have not adequately responded to conventional ulcer therapy. A pilot study was conducted to assess the health-related quality of life impact of patients with venous leg ulcers treated with Apligraf. A 2-part questionnaire was administered over the telephone to patients treated with Apligraf whose ulcers had healed within the past 12 weeks. The patients were asked to respond to questions when thinking about the past week and when thinking about the time immediately prior to treatment. A total of 14 participants completed the questionnaire. All patients reported improvement in health-related quality of life after successful treatment of Apligraf. Compared with the time before treatment, 79% of respondents said their health was "much better" now. The greatest improvement was reported in pain and in other physical health dimensions. Despite the small sample size and cross-sectional design of the study, statistically significant differences were observed on a number of scales.