A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF COMPRESSION TREATMENT FOR VENOUS LEG ULCERS

Objective: To estimate the clinical and cost effectiveness of compress ion systems for treating venous leg ulcers. Methods: Systematic review of research. Search of 19 electronic databases including Medline, CIN AHL, and Embase. Relevant journals and conference proceedings were han d searched and experts were consulted. Main outcome measures: Rate of healing and proportion of ulcers healed within a time period. Study se lection: Randomised controlled trials, published or unpublished, with no restriction on date or language, that evaluated compression as a tr eatment for venous leg ulcers. Results: 24 randomised controlled trial s were included in the review The research evidence was quite weak: ma ny trials had inadequate sample size and generally poor methodology, C ompression seems to increase healing rates, Various high compression r egimens are more effective than low compression, Few trials have compa red the effectiveness of different high compression systems. Conclusio ns: Compression systems improve the healing of venous leg ulcers and s hould be used routinely in uncomplicated venous ulcers. Insufficient r eliable evidence exists to indicate which system is the most effective , More good quality randomised controlled trials in association with e conomic evaluations are needed, to ascertain the most cost effective s ystem for treating venous leg ulcers.