At the Wounds UK 2024 conference in Harrogate, UK in November, four new studies on Accel-Heal Solo, an easy to use, pre-programmed, microcurrent electrical stimulation therapy (EST) device were presented, further showcasing its promising application in wound healing and in the relief of wound pain.
Accel-Heal Solo reduced wound pain and increased rate of healing in previously stagnant wounds: an observational case series
The first study, presented by Jane Hampton focused on the effectiveness of Accel-Heal Solo in treating 20 patients with 22 painful, hard-to-heal wounds. The patients had suffered these wounds from between 3.3 and 14.4 months and the wounds had shown no improvement or had deteriorated over the four weeks prior to treatment. Over the 12-day treatment period, wounds were monitored for changes in area and pain. The results were highly encouraging; after just one week, patients reported a significant improvement in their pain with a median pain reduction of 66.7%. Wound area had decreased by 14% after two weeks and by 33.5% after four weeks, a great improvement on the lack of progress that was seen in the weeks prior to treatment with Accel-Heal Solo. Within the study period, 11 out of 22 previously stagnant wounds went on to heal within a median of 15.7 weeks, indicating that Accel-Heal Solo not only alleviates wound pain but also promotes healing in hard-to-heal wounds.
Use of Accel-Heal Solo was effective in complex stage 4 pressure ulcers: a case series
The second presentation described a case series exploring the benefits of Accel-Heal Solo in patients with stage 4 pressure ulcers. The three patients, who had previously received standard care, including off-loading, reported significant reductions in pain and improvements in healing, including reduction in undermining, after starting treatment with Accel-Heal Solo. In one case negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) had been attempted but the awkward location of the wound had prevented its application. No issues with application of Accel-Heal Solo were noted in this patient and excellent wound progress was observed. These findings highlight the need for active therapies in managing severe pressure ulcers, potentially transforming wound care and patient outcomes in community settings.
Reduction in wound pain associated with Accel-Heal Solo enhanced compliance with compression therapy and reduced reliance on opioid analgesics: a case study
In the third presentation, Michael Warburton presented a case study to highlight the use of Accel-Heal Solo to improve patient tolerance to therapeutic compression therapy, in this case in a patient with two leg ulcers associated with lipodermatosclerosis caused by chronic venous insufficiency. The subject, a 43-year-old woman, experienced severe pain from her venous leg ulcers, making her unable to tolerate compression therapy. Through three consecutive 12-day treatments with Accel-Heal Solo (36 days in total), the patient’s pain levels halved, allowing her to start wearing full compression therapy. Remarkably, the area of her two ulcers reduced by 44% and 69% during the treatment period. Importantly, she was able to stop taking opioid analgesics. The overall impact of treatment was that she was no longer house-bound and had a significantly improved quality of life.
Accel-Heal Solo and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy can be used together and have different but complimentary modes of action
In the final study, the results of an experimental study comparing the effects of Accel-Heal Solo with single-use negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) were presented. In a porcine model, wounds treated with Accel-Heal Solo showed a mean closure rate of 89.1%, similar to NPWT’s 85.25%. The study indicated that while Accel-Heal Solo and NPWT both effectively close wounds, the mechanisms of closure may vary. Accel-Heal Solo appeared to favour wound closure through contraction whilst NPWT, compared to Accel-Heal Solo, favoured closure by re-epithelialisation. The combination of both therapies, which appeared safe and effective, warrants further exploration, to explore the potential for a synergistic effect with increased re-epithelialisation and increased contraction.
Conclusions
These studies presented at Wounds UK 2024 highlight the potential of Accel-Heal Solo to address several currently unmet needs in wound care, including failure to heal, lack of options for effective wound pain relief and lack of tolerance to compression therapy. Improvements in wound-related outcomes such as those reported in these new studies, often translate into a significant reduction of the overall resource burden needed to manage those wounds and helping to reduce the financial expense of managing hard-to-heal wounds.1 Also of note is the finding that Accel-Heal Solo was as effective as another well-established advanced wound care option, NPWT, and may be considered as an alternative to NPWT as it is more easily applied. As these studies demonstrate, Accel-Heal Solo continues to emerge as an innovative tool in the ongoing search for effective wound management strategies.
References:
1. Guest JF, Ayoub N, Greaves T. Clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of an externally applied electroceutical device in managing venous leg ulcers in clinical practice in the UK. J Wound Care. 2015 Dec;24(12):572, 574-80.