Phase angle, an alternative physiological tool to assess wound treatment in chronic nonhealing wounds

This exploratory study was conducted in an effort to demonstrate that bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) phase angle measurement is a novel tool for monitoring the effectiveness of a wound care regimen at a regional level and is valuable in comparing that status with the overall metabolic health of the patient. Isolating and measuring the extent to which nutritional supplementation contributes to the healing process is difficult and confounded by the many treatment modalities patients undergo.

The authors conducted a limited exploratory study to determine whether regional phase angle measurements accurately reflected the status of chronic nonhealing wounds. This information would potentially provide the ability to quantitatively evaluate of the role of nutritional supplementation in wounds of varying etiologies by comparing regional BIA phase angle measurement with overall BIA phase angle measurement.

Eleven patients with wounds of varying etiologies were selected to participate. Each patient underwent a treatment regimen specific to his or her condition, and all patients were given JUVEN(®) nutritional supplement.

In all patients, the BIA phase angle measurement mirrored the health of the wound and provided an accurate tool for assessing the regional tissue health, a valuable insight in measuring the effectiveness of a systemic treatment.