Therapeutic Ultrasound and Wound Closure: Lack of Healing Effect on X-Ray Irradiated Wounds in Murine Skin

Abstract Lowe AS, Walker MD, Cowan R, Baxter GD. Therapeutic ultrasound and wound closure: lack of healing effect on x-ray irradiated wounds in murine skin. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82:1507-11. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasonography as a therapeutic agent in wound healing. Design: Randomized, controlled trial. Setting: University animal laboratory. Animals: Male BALB/c mice randomly allocated to 5 groups. Interventions: In group 1, mice were left untreated; in groups 2 through 5, a well-defined area on the dorsum was exposed to 20Gy x-ray irradiation. Seventy-two hours postirradiation, all mice were anesthetized by inhalation (isoflurane anesthetic) and a 7 × 7mm area wound made on the dorsum. All wounds were videotaped alongside a marker scale 3 times weekly until closure was complete. Mice in groups 4 and 5 were treated with pulsed therapeutic ultrasound for 5 minutes, 3 times weekly at 1 and 3MHz, respectively (intensity, 0.5W/cm 2 ); mice in group 3 received placebo ultrasound. Subsequently, the area of each wound was measured from video by using an image analysis system. Main Outcome Measure: Wound closure as a fraction of day zero. Results: Irradiation caused a significant ( p Conclusion: These findings provide little evidence that 1 or 3MHz ultrasound applied to a radiation-impaired wound stimulates wound closure in mice. © 2001 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation