Abstract

Background. Studying effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields on foot ulcer in type I diabetic adolescents is a strategy for determining its efficacy to accelerate diabetic wound healing. Objective. To investigate the effect of low frequency, low intensity, pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on skin wound healing in type I diabetic adolescents. Methods. Forty type I diabetic adolescents of both genders (22 girls and 18 boys) ranged in age from 12 to 17 years contributed in this study; they were assigned randomly into two equal groups (20 adolescents each). Subjects in control group (A) received only traditional medical treatment for 6 weeks (n = 20), whereas subjects in study group (B) received pulsed electromagnetic waves in addition to the same traditional medical treatment (n = 20). Pulsed electromagnetic was performed every other day for 6 weeks with up to 20 minutes of treatment per session. They complicated with foot ulcer and were referred from the pediatricians of the outpatient clinic in diabetes institute and Abu Rish hospital for children to participate in the study. The following parameters, including photographic method for wound assessment and visual analogue scale, were measured before and after the treatment course. Results. Comparing both groups post-treatment revealed statistically significant reductions in the total score of photographic wound assessment tool and visual analogue scale (p<0.05) in favor of group (B). Conclusion. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy is an effective additional tool to physical therapy program in foot ulcers in type I diabetic adolescents as it plays an important role in increasing healing rate of foot ulcer for those adolescents.

Key words:

Type I diabetes, foot ulcer, photographic method, visual analogue scale, pulsed electromagnetic therapy