|
The Cochrane Collaboration
Cochrane Reviews |
| Explore | New + Updated | Other languages |
|
 |
Oral zinc for arterial and venous leg ulcersWilkinson EAJ, Hawke CC
Bookmark this:
     more ...
SummaryOral zinc supplements for treating leg ulcersLeg ulcers (open sores) usually heal with good wound care and dressings. Some leg ulcers, however, fail to heal despite good wound care and it may be that poor nutrition reduces the ability of the body to repair itself. Minerals such as zinc are necessary for healing to progress and so it has been thought that taking zinc sulphate tablets might aid healing. The review did not find strong evidence from trials that taking zinc tablets leads to better healing of leg ulcers.
This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 3, Copyright © 2008 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
This version first published online:
October 26. 1998 AbstractBackgroundLeg ulcers affect up to one per cent of people at some time in their life. Management includes care of the ulcer using dressings and treatment of underlying medical problems such as malnutrition, lack of minerals, vitamins, poor blood supply or infection. ObjectivesTo assess the effectiveness of oral zinc in healing arterial or venous leg ulcers. Search strategySearches for the original review were made of 19 databases, handsearching of journals and conference proceedings from the year 1948 onwards, and examination of bibliographies. The company manufacturing zinc sulphate tablets was asked for references to relevant trials. For this update the Wounds Group Specialised Register (May 2007), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)( Issue 2, 2007), Ovid MEDLINE (2005 to April Week 4 2007), Ovid EMBASE (2005 to 2007 Week 18) and Ovid CINAHL (2005 to April Week 4 2007) were searched. Selection criteriaRandomised controlled trials comparing oral zinc sulphate with placebo or no treatment in people with arterial or venous leg ulcers. There was no restriction on date or language. The main outcome measure used was complete healing of the ulcers. Trials were eligible for inclusion if they measured ulcer healing objectively by time to complete healing, proportion of ulcers healed during the study, or healing rates of ulcers. Data collection and analysisAll data extraction and assessment of trial quality were done by both authors independently. Main resultsSix small trials were eligible for inclusion. In four trials, serum zinc was measured at baseline or during the trial. Overall, there was no evidence of a beneficial effect of treatment with zinc sulphate on the number of ulcers healed. Authors' conclusionsOverall, oral zinc sulphate does not appear to aid healing of arterial and venous leg ulcers. |
