[Importance of biopsy in the diagnostic assessment of chronic wounds-position paper of the Initiative Chronische Wunden (ICW) e. V.] / Stellenwert der Biopsie in der Diagnostik chronischer Wunden ­ ein Positionspapier der Initiative Chronische Wunden (ICW) e. V.

Diagnostic assessment of chronic wounds is essential for the initiation of causal therapeutic treatment. For diagnostic classification of the wound genesis, it may be necessary to take a tissue sample for histological and/or microbiological processing. If there is clinical suspicion of a specific cause of the wound such as a neoplasm, an inflammatory dermatosis or a pathogen-induced wound, a tissue sample for further diagnosis is required immediately. If the ulceration does not respond sufficiently to adequate causal therapy, a tissue sample for further evaluation is recommended after 12 weeks. The choice of the correct sampling technique, further storage, transport and processing are just as decisive for a reliable result as the specific question for the diagnostic laboratory.

[Chronic leg ulcers]. / Chronisches Ulcus cruris.

Chronic wounds often manifest as ulcers on the lower legs. The main causes of chronic leg ulcers are chronic venous insufficiency and/or peripheral arterial occlusive disease in approximately 80% of all patients. However, there are also numerous other potentially relevant factors which can cause or almost impede the healing of chronic leg ulcers. Therefore, disease such as vasculitis, livedo vasculopathy, pyoderma gangrenosum, necrobiosis lipoidica, Martorell hypertensive leg ulcer, calciphylaxis, infectious diseases, neoplasms, drugs, cutaneous artefacts and genetic defects are exemplarily presented. The successful therapy of patients with chronic leg ulcers is only possible on the basis of an adequate diagnosis. Therapeutic options include conservative, surgical and interventional treatment options. In particular the consequent implementation of compression therapy is of very great importance in the therapy of most patients with chronic leg ulcers and edema. However, a permanent effective treatment always requires a causally oriented therapy, which usually needs an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach.

[Recurrent leg ulcers due to livedoid vasculopathy: successful treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin]. / Rezidivierende ulzerationen bei livedovaskulopathie: erfolgreiche behandlung mit niedermolekularem heparin.

HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS: A 50-year-old women had suffered from recurrent and extremely painful ulcerations of both legs and the back of her feet for about 3 weeks. The clinical examination showed multiple hemorrhagic and bizarre configured ulcerations with a surrounding livid-erythematous discoloration, hyperpigmentation and extensive atrophie blanche. INVESTIGATIONS: Neither instrument-based nor serological tests revealed specific pathological findings. Histological results from the border area of the ulceration confirmed the diagnosis of livedoid vasculopathy. TREATMENT AND COURSE: A systemic treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin was initiated, resulting in a rapid pain reduction and complete healing of the ulcerations after some weeks of therapy. CONCLUSION: This case report demonstrates that unusual entities like livedoid vasculopathy should be considered as rare causes for recurrent leg ulcers because different underlying etiologies need different specific treatment strategies. Until now treatment for patients with livedoid vasculopathy has not been standardized but anticoagulative therapy with low-molecular-weight heparin is considered to be one treatment of first choice.

[Successful treatment of a patient with ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica non diabeticorum with adalimumab]. / Erfolgreiche Behandlung einer Patientin mit therapierefraktärer, exulzerierter Necrobiosis lipoidica non diabeticorum mit Adalimumab.

Necrobiosis lipoidica is a rare inflammatory granulomatous skin disease of unknown etiology which is associated with diabetes mellitus in about 60 % of the patients. In up to 30 % of these patients extremely painful and often hard-to-heal ulcerations occur in the course of the disease. We present a new therapeutic option using adalimumab to treat refractory ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica non diabeticorum. The clinical efficacy of adalimumab probably reflects an immunomodulatory effect through the specific TNF-α inhibition which is one central aspect of the underlying inflammation. Thus, adalimumab could represent promising new treatment option, especially for patients with otherwise therapy-refractory ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica.

[Multilocular pyoderma gangrenosum after uterus resection]. / Multilokuläres Pyoderma gangraenosum nach Uterusresektion.

A 71-year-old patient presented with very painful ulcers after uterus-resection with the da Vinci® Surgical System 3 months before. The anamnesis revealed that in the past 10 months similar wounds had appeared after osteosynthesis of a humerus fracture and after breast biopsy. The patient had been unsuccessfully treated with different antibiotics and wound dressings for several months for a suspected superinfected, postoperative disturbed wound healing. None of the wounds became smaller or healed completely. After exclusion of relevant differential diagnoses pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) could be diagnosed and systemic immunosuppressive therapy was initiated. The pain improved rapidly and complete wound healing was achieved. Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rarely diagnosed autoimmune disease which often occurs after physical trauma such as surgical interventions. Because a correct diagnose is usually made late it is important to be aware of this disease to treat it early and correctly.

Efficacy of two compression systems in the management of VLUs: results of a European RCT.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy, tolerance and acceptability an innovative two-layer system (KTwo; Laboratoires URGO) versus an established four-layer bandage system (Profore; Smith & Nephew) in the local management of venous leg ulcers. METHOD: A non-inferiority European randomised controlled trial, conducted in 37 centres, in three countries (France, U.K. and Germany), on patients presenting with venous leg ulcers (VLUs). Participants were adult, non-immunosuppressed patients who presented with non-infected, non-malignant leg ulcers, predominantly of venous origin (ABPI > 0.8), with a surface area of 2-50 cm2 and duration 1-24 months. Patients were followed-up every 2 weeks for a period of 12 weeks, or until full closure. Visits included a clinical examination, wound area tracings and photographic evidence. The primary endpoint was the percentage of leg ulcers healed after the 12 weeks, with secondary endpoints of relative wound area reduction (RWAR), absolute wound area reduction (AWAR) and the percentage of wounds with RWAR > or = 40%. RESULTS: In total, 187 patients were randomised to either the two-layer bandage (2LB, n=94) or four-layer bandage (4LB; n=93) system. The two groups were comparable,with regard to wound and patient characteristics, at baseline. By week 12, 44% of VLUs in the 2LB group and 39% in the 4LB group had healed (intention-to-treat [ITT] analysis). The per-protocol (PP) analysis showed that complete wound closure was obtained in 48% and 38% of the 2LB and 4LB groups, respectively. A non-inferiority margin within -10% is considered as demonstrating a 95% and 97.5% confidence interval (p = 0.001). The AWAR was 6.6 cm2 in the test and 4.9 cm2 in the control group. The percentage of wounds with a RWAR > OR =40% was 47% and 44% for the 2LB and 4LB systems, respectively. Pain between dressing changes was reported in 27% of the test and 40% of the control group, and the incidence of adverse events was 17% and 25%, respectively. The 2LB compression system was considered to be significantly easier to apply than the 4LB (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The 2LB system (KTwo) was not seen to be any less effective than a well-known 4LB system (Profore) in the management of VLUs. Furthermore, the 2LB system was considered to be easier to apply, representing an alternative to the conventional treatment with 4LB currently available. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: This study was sponsored by a grant from Laboratoires URGO, manufacturers of KTwo. S. Bohbot and A. Sauvadet are employees of Laboratoires Urgo. S. Meaume has received monetary compensation as a speaker for Laboratoires Urgo. Data management and statistical analyses were conducted by Vertical (J. C. Kerihuel; Paris, France).

Reliability and cost-effectiveness of complete lymph node dissection under tumescent local anaesthesia vs. general anaesthesia: a retrospective analysis in patients with malignant melanoma AJCC stage III.

BACKGROUND: Complete lymph node dissection (CLND) in melanoma patients with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) is currently being debated, as it is a cost-intensive surgical intervention with potentially high morbidity. OBJECTIVE: This clinical study seeks to clarify the effectiveness, reliability and cost-effectiveness of CLND performed under tumescent local anaesthesia (TLA) compared with procedures under general anaesthesia (GA). METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the data from 60 patients with primary malignant melanoma American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III who underwent CLND. RESULTS: Altogether 26 (43.3%) patients underwent CLND under TLA and 34 (56.7%) patients underwent CLND under GA. Fifteen of 43 (34.9%) patients had a complication, such as development of seromas and/or wound infections. The rate of complications was 25.0% (3/12) in the axilla subgroup and 28.6% (4/14) in the groin subgroup of the TLA group. In the GA group, the complication rate was 31.3% (5/16) in the axilla subgroup and 44.4% (8/18) in the groin subgroup. The costs for CLND were significantly less for the CLND in a procedure room performed under TLA (mean €67.26) compared with CLND in an operating room under GA (mean €676.20, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study confirms that TLA is an excellent, safe, effective and cost-efficient alternative to GA for CLND in melanoma patients.

Radio-guided surgery: advantages of a new portable γ-camera (Sentinella) for intraoperative real time imaging and detection of sentinel lymph nodes in cutaneous malignancies.

BACKGROUND: The histological status of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) is one of the most relevant prognostic factors for the overall survival of patients with cutaneous malignancies, independent of tumour depth of the primary tumour. OBJECTIVES: Our study seeks to evaluate the reliability and medical benefit of SLN excision (SLNE) performed with a portable γ-camera for intraoperative real time imaging of SLN. METHODS: Therefore our study compares the visualization of SLN performed with preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and preoperative SPECT/CT with the intraoperative real time imaging of SLN performed with a new portable γ-camera (Sentinella) in 60 patients who were treated with a SLNE for early stage melanoma (n = 38), high risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (n = 16), Merkel cell carcinoma (n = 4), sebaceous gland carcinoma (n = 1), and sweat glands carcinoma or porocarcinoma (n = 1). RESULTS: Sixty patients were enrolled in this study. The portable γ-camera visualized all 126 preoperatively identified SLN. 23 additional SLN (15.4%) in 15 patients were only identified using the portable γ-camera. Two of these additional SLN showed metastatic involvement. CONCLUSION: The portable γ-camera is an innovative imaging technique, reliable and providing additional information in the detection of SLN. Therefore SLNE with intraoperative γ-camera use is an attractive option to improve the detection of SLN in cutaneous malignancies and could help to reduce false negative SLN results.

Advantages of preoperative ultrasound in conjunction with lymphoscintigraphy in detecting malignant melanoma metastases in sentinel lymph nodes: a retrospective analysis in 221 patients with malignant melanoma AJCC Stages I and II.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) for the detection of regional nodal metastases and staging of malignant melanoma has resulted in some controversies in international discussions as it is a surgical intervention with potential morbidity. OBJECTIVE: The present retrospective study seeks to clarify the reliability of preoperative ultrasonography (US) in direct comparison to the result of SLNE and seeks to identify potential advantages of preoperative ultrasound if performed in conjunction with lymphoscintigraphy in detecting malignant melanoma metastases in sentinel lymph node (SLN). PATIENTS: We retrospectively analysed data from 221 patients with primary malignant melanoma with a Breslow index of ≥ 1.0 mm. RESULTS: Of the 221 patients, 77.4% (n = 171) had a negative SLN. In 50 patients (22.6%), the histopathological investigation of 71 excised lymph nodes resulted in a positive SLN. The US examination demonstrated a sensitivity of 13.6%, a specificity of 96.9%, a positive predictive value of 97.2% and a negative predictive value of 12.6%. SLNE alone shows a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 98.6%, a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 98.3%. Preoperative US in conjunction with dynamic lymphoscintigraphy, followed by SLNE, demonstrated a detecting ratio of 100% (n = 28) for micrometastases and 98.6% (n = 42/43) for macrometastases. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study confirms that preoperative US alone cannot replace the vital information obtained during dynamic lymphoscintigraphy. But preoperative US is an important component of the staging procedure in melanoma patients and has clear advantages when performed in conjunction with dynamic lymphoscintigraphy. Therefore, we recommend preoperative US before every SLNE.

Advantages of preoperative hybrid SPECT/CT in detection of sentinel lymph nodes in cutaneous head and neck malignancies.

BACKGROUND: There is some controversy around the value of sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE). Especially SLNE of cutaneous head and neck malignancies has been debated intensively, in part because of the complexity of the lymphatic drainage in this region associated with potential high morbidity. In order to improve preoperative three-dimensional mapping of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN), in the head and neck region, by means of hybrid single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) is gaining significance. Our study seeks to identify the potential medical and economic advantages of preoperative SPECT/CT in direct comparison to standard SLNE without SPECT/CT in patients with cutaneous head and neck malignancies. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the data of 48 clinically lymph node-negative patients with early stage melanoma, high risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and porocarcinoma, who underwent SLNE with or without preoperative SPECT/CT within 4 years. RESULTS: The SLNE in the head and neck region with SPECT/CT-technique demonstrated better postoperative aesthetic results had lower morbidity and significantly reduced operating time. Moreover, SLNE with SPECT/CT-technique in the head and neck region was feasible using local anaesthesia (LA) and significantly reduced resulting costs (€32.65/SLNE with LA vs. €334.57/SLNE with general anaesthesia, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: SPECT/CT is an innovative imaging technique, reliably and readily providing additional anatomical/functional information to detect and to excise SLN in the head and neck region. Therefore, SLNE with SPECT/CT-technique is an attractive option to improve the detection of SLN in cutaneous head and neck malignancies.

Reliability and cost-effectiveness of sentinel lymph node excision under local anaesthesia versus general anaesthesia for malignant melanoma: a retrospective analysis in 300 patients with malignant melanoma AJCC Stages I and II.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node excision (SLNE) for the detection of regional nodal metastases and staging of malignant melanoma has resulted in some controversies in international discussions, as it is a cost-intensive surgical intervention with potentially significant morbidity. OBJECTIVE: The present retrospective study seeks to clarify the effectiveness and reliability of SLNE performed under tumescent local anaesthesia (TLA) and whether SLNE performed under TLA can reduce costs and morbidity. Therefore, our study is a comparison of SLNE performed under TLA and general anaesthesia (GA). PATIENTS: We retrospectively analysed data from 300 patients with primary malignant melanoma with a Breslow index of ≥1.0 mm. RESULTS: Altogether, 211 (70.3%) patients underwent SLNE under TLA and 89 (29.7%) patients underwent SLNE under GA. A total of 637 sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) were removed. In the TLA group 1.98 SLN/patient and in the GA group 2.46 SLN/patient were removed (median value). Seventy patients (23.3%) had a positive SLN. No major complications occurred. The costs for SLNE were significantly less for the SLNE in a procedures room performed under TLA (mean € 30.64) compared with SLNE in an operating room under GA (mean € 326.14, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, SLNE performed under TLA is safe, reliable, and cost-efficient and could become the new gold standard in sentinel lymph node diagnostic procedures.

[Physical treatment modalities for chronic leg ulcers]. / Physikalische Therapien des chronischen Ulcus cruris.

An increasing numbers of physical treatment options are available for chronic leg ulcer. In this review article, compression therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, negative pressure therapy, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, electrostimulation therapy, electromagnetic therapy, photodynamic therapy, water-filtered infrared-A-radiation and hydrotherapy are discussed in terms of their practical applications and the underlying evidence. With the exception of compression therapy for most of these treatments, good scientific data are not available. However this is a widespread problem in the treatment of chronic wounds. Nevertheless, several of the described methods such as negative pressure therapy represent one of the gold standards in practical treatment of patients with chronic leg ulcers. Although the use of physical treatment modalities may improve healing in patients with chronic leg ulcers, the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying causes are essential for long-lasting success.

Polidocanol foam sclerotherapy is a new and effective treatment for post-operative lymphorrhea and lymphocele.

BACKGROUND: The formation of post-operative lymphocele and lymphorrhea following lymph node surgery is a potentially serious complication. Until now there has been no consensus on the most effective treatment for these complications. Therefore, the aim of our clinical trial was to compare the use of polidocanol foam sclerotherapy with compression therapy to wound drainage, in the treatment of post-operative lymphoceles. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospectively we analysed the data of 33 consecutive surgical patients who had developed a post-operative lymphocele between 2004 and 2008. We offered all patients drainage with compression therapy or polidocanol foam sclerotherapy with 1-day compression to treat the post-operative lymphoceles. RESULTS: Altogether, 12 patients were treated with polidocanol foam sclerotherapy and 21 patients were treated with drainage alone. Secretion volumes declined from initial 50-350 ml/day to 0-20 ml/day at the end of the therapy. Lymphorrhea resolved much quicker (P < 0.0001) in patients treated with polidocanol foam sclerotherapy (median 4 days, mean value 6.4 days) than in those treated with drainage (median 31 days, mean value 30.2 days). None of the patients developed a major complication. CONCLUSION: Polidocanol foam sclerotherapy is an effective and well-tolerated new treatment for patients with post-operative lymphoceles.

[Psoriasis vulgaris as a trigger for a superficial multilocular pyoderma gangrenosum?]. / Psoriasis vulgaris als Trigger eines superfiziellen multilokulären Pyoderma gangraenosum?

We report on a 60-year-old man with psoriasis vulgaris who had developed disseminated ulcerations of different sizes over the complete integument over a period of 3 months. The initial examination revealed approximately 150 clearly defined ulcerations, which were mostly reported to be painless. The histopathology report of a biopsy taken from the border area of an ulceration showed a nonspecific inflammation with a predominantly neutrophilic infiltrate. In the synopsis of all results, after excluding relevant differential diagnoses, we diagnosed a superficial multilocular pyoderma gangrenosum that had possibly developed in the areas of the preexisting psoriasis vulgaris. Reports of superficial multilocular pyoderma gangrenosum, a variation of pyoderma gangrenosum, are extremely rare. This condition is characterised by multiple superficial, chronically persistent ulcerations. These ulcerations are often described as indolent and usually develop from a pustule in the area of a preexisting condition or trauma. Up to now, psoriasis vulgaris has seldom been described as a trigger for pyoderma gangrenosum. The treatment is very difficult and is based on local and/or systemic immunosuppression. In this patient's case, considerable improvement was attained with a topical polyhexanide gel in combination with moist wound therapy, with no systemic immunosuppression. Our case report underscores that physicians should keep in mind the rare variation of superficial multilocular pyoderma gangrenosum in the differential diagnosis of multiple disseminated, painless ulcerations over the complete integument in patients with psoriasis vulgaris.