Local Treatment of Ischemic Skin Wounds Using a Unique Drug Mixture in Combination with Magnetic Therapy

Introduction. The main cause of ischemic wounds is peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The overall prevalence of PAD varies within 3-10%, increasing to 15-20% among patients over 70 years of age. The PAD prevalence is slightly higher in men than in women. This problem is crucial for healthcare, since such wounds can lead to the need to amputate the lower extremities in case of ulcerative-necrotic processes and gangrene, being one of the common causes of increased disability and mortality in the population.

The aim of the study was to investigate features of the wound process when healing ischemic skin wounds with local application of a unique mixture of benzalkonium chloride, dexpanthenol and pentoxifylline in combination with magnetotherapy.

Materials and methods. Ischemic skin wounds were simulated on the hind limbs of 90 male Wistar rats (RU Patent for Invention No. 2807383). The animals were divided into three groups based on the features of the treatment performed. In animals of the 1st group, a unique mixture of benzalkonium chloride, dexpanthenol and pentoxifylline was applied to the skin defect; in animals of the 2nd group, magnetotherapy was used; in animals of the 3rd group, the unique medicinal mixture and magnetotherapy were used simultaneously. The analysis of the results included an assessment of the wound area, microcirculation, pH of the wound surface and the local temperature. The results were recorded on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th days of the study. Microsoft Excel 2014 and Statistica 13.0 programs with the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to process data statistically. Significant differences were considered at p<0.05.

Results. A combination of benzalkonium chloride, dexpanthenol and pentoxifylline with the simultaneous use of magnetic therapy is effective in the treatment of ischemic wounds. The third group showed the greatest effectiveness, where the area of wounds significantly decreased on the 10th day by 1.9 times compared to group 1 and 9.4 times compared to group 2, respectively. The healing rate was also significantly higher in group 3 compared to group 1 (1.3 times) and group 2 (1.7 times), respectively. The third group also showed the best result during the assessment of microhemocirculation and a shift in pH to the slightly acidic side already on the 3rd day; only on the 8th day there were significant differences of 1.1 times between the 1st and 3rd groups.

Conclusions. The use of the specifically developed unique medicinal combination of drugs applied together with magnetic therapy has confirmed its effectiveness if compared with the control treatment groups. This treatment option has a beneficial effect on the healing process of ischemic skin wounds and allows recommending it for further preclinical studies.