[Systemic enzyme therapy in the treatment and prevention of post-traumatic and postoperative swelling]

The authors concentrate on the use of enzyme therapy in traumatology. They monitored SET efficiency in the treatment and prophylazis of swelling in the postoperative period after the internal fixation of fractures of long bones and compared it with the effect of standard antiswelling seu antioedematous drugs on the basis of aescin.

A group of 60 patients was followed after the fixation of long bones. The average age was 42 years (range, 12-79 years). Fractures were treated by intrameduilary fixation or by external fixators. The patients were split into two groups. In 30 patients only Phlogenzym was administered for the treatment and prevention of posttraumatic and postoperative swelling. Another 30 patients--the control group--were treated by standard antioedematic drugs on the basis of aescin. The same analgesics were applied in both groups.

The group of patients with systemic enzyme therapy were treated by Phlogenzym in the dosage 3 times 3 tablets in the first three days after operation and subsequently 3 times 2 tablets in the remaining follow-up period. In the postoperative period the changes of operated limb volume was monitored. The circumference of a limb was measured in the area of the largest oedema and 10 cm distally. Then the volume of this part of limb was calculated as the volume of conical frustum. The measurements were performed on postoperative days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14. The volume value of the 1st day was used as starting value (100%). The values of subsequent measurements were then compared to this starting value in both group of patients. Evaluation of the resorption of traumatic and postoperative haematoma and analgesis effect of Phlogenzym was also made.

In the group of patients who were administered with Phlogenzym after operation the reduction of the posttraumatic and postoperative swelling was continuous and significantly faster in compared with patients of the control group. A remarkable difference was revealed by the measurement on 5th postoperative day--in patients treated by Phlogenzym the starting value of the volume of the operated in limb was reduced on average by almost 8%. In contrast, in the control group treated by standard drugs this value slightly increased above 100%. At the end of the first postoperative week the monitored volume was on average reduced by 12% in the SET group compared with 1.45% in the control group. At the end of the follow-up--on 14th postoperative day the volume was reduced in the SET group by almost 17% compared with 9% in the control group. There was also an evidently good analgesic effect of the drug. The total consumption of analgesics of patients in the SET group was significantly lower, particularly in the early postoperative period. In the course of the follow-up of both groups no marked differences were recorded in the changes of the volume of operated limbs in dependence on the method of fixation applied (intramedullary or external), sex of the patient or on the affected limb (lower or upper). The patients tolerated Phlogenzym very well, only one female patient suffered temporarily from poor digestion which, however, did not require to interrupt the administration of the drug. No other undesirable effects occurred.

Fixation of long bones belongs to the most frequent operations in traumatological and orthopaedic departments of all levels. One of the factors which may have an unfavourable effect on the final result of fixation is a prolonged post-trauma or postoperative swelling. The results of the study prove a clearly positive effect of system enzymotherapy on the reduction of oedema accompanying the trauma and inflammation. The study proved a statistical significance of the acceleration of the reduction of oedema in patients treated by Phlogenzym as compared to the control group treated by a standard antioedematous drugs.

The authors verified that systemic enzyme therapy could influence significantly the results of traumatological surgery. Simple administration per os, efficient oedema reduction and thus accelerated healing, antiophlogistic and analgesic effect--all these advantages justify the application of this therapeutic method what can be recommended as a part of the complex treatment in traumatology with both conservative and surgical approaches.