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Prevention and treatment
Chronic wounds often manifest as ulcers on the lower legs caused by chronic venous insufficiency and/or peripheral arterial occlusive disease in the majority of cases. Leg ulcers affect about 1 in 1000 people in Europe and are more frequent in elderly people: A british study revealed that the average age of people with venous leg ulcers was 73.5 years old.
According to an estimation about 80% of chronic wounds localized on the lower leg are the result of chronic venous insufficiency, whereas in 5-10% the cause is of arterial etiology. Other etiologies, like neuropathic ulcers represent the remaining percentages.
If not treated correctly, a leg ulcer can become a chronic wound which requires longer healing time, sometimes more than six months, and they have a tendency to reoccur.
Risk factors are:
Prevention and intensive management are key in venous leg ulcer treatment, especially because the recurrence rates of up to 17% at one year is challenging. Therefore, numerous guidelines have been developed but unfortunately some heterogeneity among the guidelines exist. However, mostly consensus could be achieved: