[Healing times and the need for hospitalization for leg ulcers of different etiologies]

Leg ulcers are a symptom of a heterogeneous group of diseases. Their treatment causes substantial costs due to the long healing times and extensive wound care measures. There is a paucity of information about healing times and the necessity of hospital treatment for leg ulcers of different etiologies.

In this retrospective study, healing times and the frequency of in-hospital treatment of 355 patients with leg ulcers attending a wound care clinic of a university hospital were examined.

The proportion of healed ulcers was 32.0% after 3 months and 54.3% after 6 months with an average treatment duration of 6.1 months for all ulcers. This proportion of healed ulcers was higher for venous ulcers with 45.5% after 3 months and 63.0% after 6 months, whereas only 30.0% of mixed arterial-venous ulcers and 35.0% of hypertensive ischemic leg ulcers (HYTILU) were healed after 6 months. Of the latter group, 71% of patients were hospitalized at least once during the observation period as compared to 47% of patients with a venous ulcer. The duration of the hospital stay was longer for mixed ulcers and HYTILU with an average of 30 days vs. 23 days for venous ulcers.

These data indicate that the healing times of ulcers of different etiologies differ substantially and that especially ulcers with arteriosclerosis as a causative factor have longer healing times. The fact that they require in-hospital treatment more frequently and for longer periods has significant socio-economic consequences.