Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en Comparison of the Efficacy of Topical Arnebia euchroma Product with Topical Phenytoin on Pressure Ulcer in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Triple-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial Infectious Disease Infectious Disease Original Research Original Research     Background: Arnebia euchroma (Ae) in traditional Persian medicine is used for wound treatment. This study assessed the efficacy of Ae liniment on pressure ulcer (PU) remedy in patients with Spinal Cord Injury.    Methods: In this triple-blind, randomized clinical trial, grade 2 and 3 wounds were randomly assigned to receive either Ae liniment or Phenytoin Cream 1% twice a day for 5 weeks. Recovery was measured by the wound size, exudate, and tissue type by the “Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing” (PUSH) tool on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35. PUSH score between groups was compared with the Mann-Whitney U test, and also within each group by Friedman test.    Results: 74 patients (37 in each group) participated and completed the study. Mean±SD of PUSH Scores at baseline, and 1,2,3,4,5 week after the treatment in Ae group were 9.73±2.65, 9.92±3.08, 8.24±3.86, 7±4.08, 5.22±4.3, 3.41±3.85  and in Phenytoin group were 10.05±1.85, 9.97±1.9, 9.59±2.08, 9.22±2.09, 8.54±2.72, 7.57±3.26. PUSH Score decrease in the Ae group was 70.33 ± 32.25% , and in group 2 was 27.67± 26.8% (P < 0.001), which indicates that in comparison of the PUSH Score decrease between the two groups, this reduction was significantly higher in the Ae group. During the study, complete wound healing was observed in 16 patients (43.2%) in the Ae group and in the Phenytoin group in 3 wounds (8.1%) (P = 0.010). No side effects were reported in either group.    Conclusions: PU healing was significantly better in the Ae group than phenytoin cream. It may be considered as a potential option in the treatment of PU in patients with Spinal Cord Injury.   Arnebia euchroma, Pressure ulcer, Persian medicine, Herbal medicine, Wound healing 456 461 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-8486-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sakineh Erabi sakineh.erabi@gmail.com 200319475328460091269 200319475328460091269 No Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali Ghobadi Alighobadi56@yahoo.com 200319475328460091270 200319475328460091270 No Institute for Studies in Medical History, Persian and Complementary Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fataneh Hashem-Dabaghian dabaghian.f@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460091271 200319475328460091271 No Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mostafa Dahmardehei Dahmardehei.m@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460091272 200319475328460091272 No Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hoorieh Mohammadi Kenari mohammadikenari.h@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460091273 200319475328460091273 Yes Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran