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Local water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) irradiations after abdominal surgery improves wound healing, postoperative pain, tissue oxygen partial pressure, tissue perfusion and tissue temperature: a double-blind study with 111 patients of the Department of General Surgery of the University of Heidelberg/Germany yielded clear advantages of the wIRA group in comparison with the control group.
In a prospective randomised controlled double-blind clinical trial, which has been published in the British Journal of Surgery, after abdominal surgery the uncovered wounds were irradiated twice each day for 20 minutes, starting on the second day after surgery: in the wIRA group with water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) and visible light and in the control group only with visible light.
All 46 patients of the wIRA group showed without exception an acute pain reduction after the wIRA irradiation on each of the 5 successive days looked at (in the median by 13.4 in comparison with 0 in the control group on a visual analogue scale VAS from 0 to 100) with 57% - 70% less consumption of analgesics. Compared to the control group the patients of the wIRA group had a significantly and relevantly improved wound healing and during irradiation in 2 cm of tissue depth an acute increase of tissue temperature by 2.7°C and of oxygen partial pressure by approximately 30% (from 32 to 42 mm Hg) with unchanged values in the control group. The wIRA group showed according to tendency less wound healing disturbances (7% compared with 15%) and a shorter postoperative stay in hospital (9 days compared with 11 days). The overall assessment of the effect of the irradiation with the inclusion of wound healing, pain and cosmetic result yielded impressive differences in favor of the wIRA group both in the judgement of the surgeons (79 compared with 47 on a VAS from 0 to 100) and the patients (79 compared with 50 on a VAS from 0 to 100).
Postoperative irradiation with wIRA can improve normal postoperative wound healing and may reduce costs in gastrointestinal surgery.
Original publication:
Hartel M, Hoffmann G, Wente MN, Martignoni ME, Buechler MW, Friess H. Randomized clinical trial of the influence of local water-filtered infrared A irradiation on wound healing after abdominal surgery. Br J Surg. 2006;93(8):952-60. DOI: 10.1002/bjs.5429.
Contact address:
PD Mark Hartel, M.D.
University Heidelberg
Department of General Surgery
Im Neuenheimer Feld 110
D-69120 Heidelberg
Germany
e-Mail: Mark.Hartel@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Criteria of this press release:
Medicine, Nutrition / healthcare / nursing
transregional, national
Research results, Scientific Publications
German
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