| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 13
| Issue : 2 | Page : 50-55 |
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Chronic leg ulcers in patients with sickle cell anemia: Experience with compression therapy in Nigeria
Ayodele O Ogunkeyede1, Oluwatoyin A Babalola2, Olayinka S Ilesanmi3, Abayomi B Odetunde2, Rotimi Aderibigbe4, Wasiu Adebayo4, Adeyinka G Falusi5
1 Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
2 IAMRAT, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
3 Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria
4 Department of Surgery, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
5 Sickle Cell Hope Alive Foundation (SCHAF), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Ayodele O Ogunkeyede
Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/njps.njps_16_17
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Objective/Purpose: A pilot study to assess the efficacy of compression therapy on the healing rate of chronic leg ulcers (CLUs) in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) in Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: A cohort study of patients with SCA and CLU complication was conducted using simple random sampling method to enroll patients from communities in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. A total of 18 patients with SCA having a total of 25 chronic leg ulcers and ankle brachial pressure index >1 were treated with a high compression bandage of four layers on a weekly basis after wound assessment for a period of 3 months. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare wound area at pre- and postintervention.
Results: The enrolled patients with SCA were in the age range of 19–44 years, and mean ± SD was 28.8 ± 6.5 years. The initial median ulcer size was 38.4 cm2 (range 0.5–416 cm2); 21 leg ulcers (84%) were >10 cm2 in size at the beginning of the study. These leg ulcers had been present for a median age of 7 years (range 1–22 years). The compression therapy technique achieved >50% healing rate in 16 legs (64%) with an initial ulcer size of 0.5–312 cm2. Four leg ulcers (16%) were completely healed during the study. The postintervention median ulcer size was 18.6 cm2 in all the 25 leg ulcers studied (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Compression wound therapy promotes a positive healing rate of the CLUs in patients with SCA in Nigeria.
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