Evidências da efetividade do ultrassom no tratamento de lesões cutâneas crônicas

Abstract

The use of therapeutic ultrasound (U.S.) for the treatment of injury aims to minimize recovery time, but the biophysical effects on repair scar is still poorly understood. After several years after onset of the U.S., its use in the treatment of skin lesions by professionals in clinical practice and the publication of several studies, it appears that it is still questionable its effectiveness in healing of chronic injuries. Even, there is lack of clarity on the dose and intensity of U.S. and therapeutic regimen that should be used for best results. Given the applicability of the U.S. for the treatment of chronic injuries, seeks to answer the following question: what is the effectiveness of this therapy in the adjuvant treatment of cutaneous lesions? The results may help in the development of several professional treatment protocols, and support the recommendation or not this adjuvant therapy. The aim of this study was to identify the evidence of the use of therapeutic ultrasound in the treatment of chronic skin lesions. We adopted the evidence-based practice and integrative review as theoretical and methodological. The guiding question adopted in this integrative review, supported in PICO is: what are the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of ultrasound in the treatment of chronic skin lesions? From the selection in the databases, were initially identified 109 studies, of which only 07 selected in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. Of these seven studies selected, 06 and 01 are controlled randomized controlled only. The database with the largest number of articles was to Cochrane (05 studies), followed by MEDLINE (01) and LILACS (01). A sample of the studies ranged from 06 pressure ulcers in 337 patients with venous ulcers. Most studies made use of the low power U.S. and considered as an outcome of the injury and healing the injured area. There was a tendency for using the U.S. low intensity (0.5 W / cm ²) to cure leg ulcers and reducing the area of pressure ulcers. The conclusion is that the data identified during the review made clear need for more specific studies about the use of the U.S., since the revision identified integrative partial efficacy of such therapy. Also, several studies showed methodological weaknesses, including small sample. Therefore, the results failed to establish recommendations for the use of U.S. for the treatment of skin lesions. It is necessary that researchers seek to improve their knowledge about the therapeutic U.S. to bring to light both a methodological adequacy as to reveal whether or not the benefits of such therapy as well as make possible a conclusion for the same job.