Abstract :
Background: Non-healing ulcers are a major cause of disability and impairment, interfering with physical and mental well-being of patients with Hansen’s disease. They are difficult to manage having longer duration of treatment and increased financial burden. Minimizing the duration of healing can be a major step in rehabilitation of such patients. Platelet rich fibrin (PRF) is a newer modality to hasten wound healing. It is a concentration of platelets suspended in plasma extracted after centrifuging patient’s own blood.
Aim: To study the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in management of non-healing ulcers.
Materials and Methods : 13 patients with 16 non-healing ulcers of more than 8 weeks duration were included in our study but 2 patients were lost to follow up after first sitting. Written consent for the procedure and ethical clearance from Institutional Ethical Committee was taken. Detailed history was noted, baseline photographs and measurement of area and volume were done at every sitting at an interval of 1 week. An average of 2-3 sittings of PRF was done in each patient and then the ulcer was spontaneously allowed to heal with regular dressing till complete closure was achieved.
Results: The mean age of cases in our study was 39.4 years. The average percentage improvement in area and volume was 97.12% and 98.72% respectively. Out of 14 ulcers, 12 (85.71%) ulcers showed complete healing within 4 weeks. The mean duration of healing was found to be 2.41 weeks. The procedure was safe with no noted adverse events.
Limitation: The limitation of our study was small sample size. More studies are needed with larger sample size to confirm the results.
Conclusion: PRF is an inexpensive, safe, feasible and effective procedure in the management of non-healing ulcers.
Keyword :
Platelet rich fibrin, PRF, Hansen’s disease, Non-healing ulcer