Case studies evaluating transdermal continuous oxygen for the treatment of chronic sickle cell ulcers

Refractory leg ulcerations are common in homozygous sickle cell anemia. In this case series, patients were treated with transdermal continuous oxygen therapy (TCOT), based on the hypothesis that oxygen deprivation caused by arteriovenous shunting may be remedied by providing oxygen directly to the wound bed. The authors believe this is the first attempt to treat sickle cell ulcers with TCOT.

Five patients with long histories of recurring sickle cell disease ulcers that would not heal with various conventional and/or other adjunctive wound healing modalities were treated with TCOT. The patients had recurring nonhealing wounds for 30, 21, 20, 20, and 15 years, respectively. All 5 patients healed or showed substantial improvement in the treatment periods of 3 to 36 weeks.

The authors conclude that TCOT may be a novel, effective, and inexpensive modality in treating patients with sickle cell disease ulcers. Improvement was typically noticeable within 2 weeks. Further clinical trials may be considered to evaluate the efficacy of TCOT in sickle cell ulcers.