Effectiveness of Ozone Therapy as an Adjunct Treatment for Lower-Limb Ulcers: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of topical ozone therapy as an adjuvant treatment in the healing of lower limb ulcers through a systematic literature review.

Data sources: Three databases were used to search for studies conducted in the period up to and including September 2020: PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science.

Study selection: The search identified 44 studies, 7 of which met the eligibility criteria and were evaluated.

Data extraction: Study design, study location, number of patients, patient age, type of control, wound type, intervention type, equipment used to generate ozone (ozone generation), evaluation methodology, and main results were extracted from each study.

Data synthesis: A total of 506 patients 18 years or older with chronic wounds, such as venous or diabetic ulcers, on the lower limbs were enrolled. The majority of studies addressed diabetic foot ulcers.

Conclusions: The ozone therapy protocols demonstrated a healing effect in all included studies, and none reported adverse effects. This reinforces the need for more controlled and randomized clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of this treatment and establish clinical criteria for its use.