Chronic leg ulcers are a painful reality for many people. They can stop daily life and cause deep emotional distress. A new analysis looked at how different cleaning methods help these wounds heal. The study reviewed data from 25 trials involving people with venous leg ulcers, arterial ulcers, mixed cases, or diabetic foot ulcers. It compared biological, enzymatic, mechanical, autolytic, and ultrasound-assisted debridement against standard care.
The results suggest biological debridement has the highest ranking probability for wound healing. Enzymatic debridement also performed well. For pain, enzymatic and autolytic methods ranked more favorably. Procedure time was shorter with biological and ultrasound-assisted methods. Time to healing was also better with biological and autolytic approaches.
However, the certainty of this evidence is limited. The study found wide credible intervals and clinical heterogeneity. Ranking probabilities do not establish clinically decisive superiority. These findings should be interpreted cautiously because the data is sparse or heterogeneous in some areas. Safety signals were not reported in the source data. Patients and doctors must weigh these results carefully before making decisions.