The Effectiveness of Pentoxifylline 10% Topical Gel on the Pressure Ulcer Healing: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background and aims

Recent studies have shown wound-healing properties of systemic pentoxifylline (PTX). This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of PTX 10% topical gel in the healing of pressure ulcer (PU).

Methods

The patients with stages 2 or 3 PU were randomly divided to PTX and control groups (n = 35 in each). For the first group, 10% PTX gel was used topically, along with common treatments, once a day for two weeks, while for the control group, a novel dressing along with the common wound care were applied. At the end of the first and second weeks, the wound size change and healing rate were compared between the groups.

Results

There was a significant decrease in wound size at the first and second weeks in PTX group compared to the control (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the number of cases showing complete wound healing in PTX group (n = 16; 45.71%) was more than control group (n = 9; 25.71%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.081).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that PTX 10% topical gel can be a promising treatment option to accelerate wound healing in patients with PU.