Wound healing / diabetic foot ulcers
Low-level light therapy for diabetic foot ulcers meta-analysis
Li S, Wang C, Wang B, et al. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 2018.
A meta-analysis of diabetic foot ulcer RCTs found improved ulcer area reduction and complete healing rate with LLLT.
Evidence grade
low
Effect direction
positive
Panel relevance
not-panel-replicable
Key findings
- The review included seven RCTs with 194 participants.
- LLLT reduced ulcer area and improved complete healing rate compared with controls.
- No treatment-related adverse events were reported in included trials.
Protocol details
| Wavelengths | Not reported nm |
|---|---|
| Irradiance | Not reported mW/cm2 |
| Fluence | Not reported J/cm2 |
| Session time | Not reported minutes |
| Frequency | Varied by clinical trial |
| Duration | Varied by wound course |
| Treatment area | Diabetic foot ulcers |
| Device type | Clinical low-level light therapy |
Caveats
- Diabetic foot ulcers require medical care; this should not be framed as a self-treatment panel protocol.
- The evidence base was small and needs larger, better-designed trials.