Maggot Therapy for Removal of Non-healing Wounds

Background: Maggot therapy has been used for centuries for treatment of non-healing soft tissue wounds. Maggot therapy disappeared for a while due to newly available antibiotics and improved surgical techniques. Recently it has made a comeback and is now considered medicinal maggots. The clinical question of whether to use maggot therapy for the treatment of non-healing wounds in comparison to more standardized therapy is resurfacing among clinicians and patients. Methods: A systematic review of current literature over the last 10 years on the efficacy of maggot debridement therapy was conducted through an extensive online article search using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EBM reviews. Results: Of the five studies that were evaluated in this review, all showed that maggot debridement therapy was effective in debriding wounds more quickly than conventional treatment. Healing time was either equal to or shorter than standardized methods. There were quite a few limitations such as the inability to carry out randomized controlled trials, inadequate number of articles found and a small number of subjects integrated in each study. Conclusion: Studies in the past prove that maggot therapy is effective in debridement of non-healing chronic wounds. This leads to enhancement of healing time and suggests that this technique is an effective and safe method of debridement for patients that are appropriate for this treatment. Degree Type Capstone Project Rights Terms of use for work posted in CommonKnowledge. This capstone project is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/pa/218 Copyright and terms of use If you have downloaded this document directly from the web or from CommonKnowledge, see the “Rights” section on the previous page for the terms of use. If you have received this document through an interlibrary loan/document delivery service, the following terms of use apply: Copyright in this work is held by the author(s). You may download or print any portion of this document for personal use only, or for any use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.). Except for personal or fair use, you or your borrowing library may not reproduce, remix, republish, post, transmit, or distribute this document, or any portion thereof, without the permission of the copyright owner. [Note: If this document is licensed under a Creative Commons license (see “Rights” on the previous page) which allows broader usage rights, your use is governed by the terms of that license. ] Inquiries regarding further use of these materials should be addressed to: CommonKnowledge Rights, Pacific University Library, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, OR 97116, (503) 352-7209. Email inquiries may be directed to:. copyright@pacificu.edu This capstone project is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/pa/218 NOTICE TO READERS This work is not a peer-reviewed publication. The Master’s Candidate author of this work has made every effort to provide accurate information and to rely on authoritative sources in the completion of this work. However, neither the author nor the faculty advisor(s) warrants the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of the information provided in this work. This work should not be considered authoritative or comprehensive in and of itself and the author and advisor(s) disclaim all responsibility for the results obtained from use of the information contained in this work. Knowledge and practice change constantly, and readers are advised to confirm the information found in this work with other more current and/or comprehensive sources. The student author attests that this work is completely his/her original authorship and that no material in this work has been plagiarized, fabricated or incorrectly attributed.