The treatment of venous leg ulcers and optimal use of Apligraf (TM)

Agence d'Evaluation des Technologies et des Modes d'Intervention en Sante
Record ID 32001000052
English, French
Authors' objectives:

This report aims to specify under what conditions the use of Apligraf (TM) would be optimal for the treatment of venous leg ulcers that are resistant to compression therapy.

Authors' recommendations: Based on this assessment, the following preliminary conclusions can be drawn concerning the clinical and economic issues in the treatment of venous leg ulcers and the use of Apligraf(TM): Clinical issues: - the evaluation and diagnosis of patients should be properly performed; - treatment of venous leg ulcers with compression therapy is more effective than treatment without compression; - compression therapy in conjunction with Apligraf(TM) provides faster healing times than compression alone; - compression therapy in conjunction with Apligraf(TM) averts more ulcer days than does compression alone. Economic issues: In the absence of validated data, the following statements remain provisional: - compression therapy simultaneously with Apligraf(TM) generates very high costs in order to reduce the number of ulcer days; - compression therapy plus Apligraf(TM) for cases that are unresponsive to initial compression therapy is less costly than compression and Apligraf(TM) simultaneously and offers potential savings for the health care system in an optimistic scenario; - identifying hard-to-heal ulcers with planimetry at week 4 of initial compression therapy, and the subsequent addition of Apligraf(TM) to treatment can increase savings.
Authors' methods: Overview
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2000
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Costs and Cost Analysis
  • Leg Ulcer
  • Skin, Artificial
  • Wound Healing
Contact
Organisation Name: Agence d'évaluation des technologies et des modes d'intervention en santé
Contact Address: 2021, avenue Union, Bureau 10.083,Montreal, Quebec H3A S29, Canada.Tel: +1 514 873 2563; Fax: +1 514 873 1369
Contact Name: demande@inesss.qc.ca
Contact Email: demande@inesss.qc.ca
Copyright: Agence d'Evaluation des technologies et des Modes d'Intervention en Sante (AETMIS)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.