High-voltage pulsed galvanic stimulation: effect of treatment duration on healing of chronic pressure ulcers

The purpose of the current study was to determine the optimal treatment duration of high-voltage pulsed galvanic current (HVPC) in treating chronic pressure ulcers. Sixty volunteers suffering from chronic pressure ulcers participated in the study for a treatment period of five weeks. They were divided randomly and equally into four groups (three treatment groups and one control group). Patients in the treatment group (G1, G2, G3) received HVPC respectively for 45, 60, and 120 min seven days a week, while patients in the control group received sham HVPC (45 min, seven days a week). The wound surface area (WSA) was used to measure outcomes before starting the study and after three and five weeks' treatment. It was found that there was a significant reduction in WSA in G2 (60 min) and G3 (120 min) compared to G1 (45 min) and the control group (sham HVPC). There was no significant difference between G2 and G3. Application of HVPC for 60 and for 120 min, seven days a week, therefore proved to be the optimal duration for enhancing chronic dermal ulcer healing.