IV iloprost may reduce healing time for venous ulcers
Clinical Question
Is intravenous iloprost useful in the treatment of venous leg ulcers?Clinical Question
Bottom Line
Intravenous iloprost may be useful in the treatment of venous leg ulcers. Further studies comparing iloprost to other standard treatments (eg, Unna boots) are needed. (LOE = 2b)Bottom Line
Reference
Ferrara F, Meli F, Raimondi F, et al. The treatment of venous leg ulcers. A new therapeutic use of iloprost. Ann Surg 2007;246(5):860-865. [PMID:17968180]Reference
Study Design
Randomized controlled trial (single-blinded)Study Design
Funding
Unknown/not statedFunding
Allocation
UncertainAllocation
Setting
Outpatient (specialty)Setting
Synopsis
The inflammatory process may be causative in persistent venous ulcers. Thus, anti-inflammatories such as iloprost, may be effective in reducing healing times. These investigators enrolled 98 consecutive patients presenting with uncomplicated internal malleolar venous ulcers of the lower limbs. Inclusion criteria were ulcers present less than 18 months, surface area between 10 cm2 and 30 cm2, and chronic venous insufficiency confirmed by ultrasound. Because topical iloprost is ineffective, subjects randomly received (uncertain allocation concealment) intravenous iloprost (starting from 0.5 ng/kg/min progressing up to 2 ng/kg/min for 6 hours per day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks) or matched saline placebo. Local treatment consisted of debridement and application of an elastic bandage. No comparison was made to the more commonly used Unna boot dressing. The authors do not specifically state if the individuals who assessed outcomes were masked to treatment group assignment. However, "complete healing" as an outcome is unlikely to be subjectively determined and potentially biased. Complete follow-up for 150 days occurred for 93% of patients. Using intention-to-treat analysis, after 150 days more ulcers completely healed in the intervention group than in the control group (100% vs 85%; P = .054; difference nonsignificant). There was a statistically significant difference in healing rates at 90 days (treatment group: 100% vs control group: 50%; number needed to treat = 2), so it is likely that ulcers in iloprost-treated patients will heal more quickly.Synopsis
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Citation
Barry, Henry, et al., editors. "IV Iloprost May Reduce Healing Time for Venous Ulcers." EE+ POEM Archive, John Wiley & Sons, 2019. Evidence Central, evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426231/all/IV_iloprost_may_reduce_healing_time_for_venous_ulcers.
IV iloprost may reduce healing time for venous ulcers. In: Barry HH, Ebell MHM, Shaughnessy AFA, et al, eds. EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons; 2019. https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426231/all/IV_iloprost_may_reduce_healing_time_for_venous_ulcers. Accessed March 27, 2023.
IV iloprost may reduce healing time for venous ulcers. (2019). In Barry, H., Ebell, M. H., Shaughnessy, A. F., & Slawson, D. C. (Eds.), EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons. https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426231/all/IV_iloprost_may_reduce_healing_time_for_venous_ulcers
IV Iloprost May Reduce Healing Time for Venous Ulcers [Internet]. In: Barry HH, Ebell MHM, Shaughnessy AFA, Slawson DCD, editors. EE+ POEM Archive. John Wiley & Sons; 2019. [cited 2023 March 27]. Available from: https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426231/all/IV_iloprost_may_reduce_healing_time_for_venous_ulcers.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - IV iloprost may reduce healing time for venous ulcers
ID - 426231
ED - Barry,Henry,
ED - Ebell,Mark H,
ED - Shaughnessy,Allen F,
ED - Slawson,David C,
BT - EE+ POEM Archive
UR - https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/infoPOEMs/426231/all/IV_iloprost_may_reduce_healing_time_for_venous_ulcers
PB - John Wiley & Sons
DB - Evidence Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
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