Utilizing Phototherapy for Wound Healing in Nursing Practice: An Integrative Literature Review

Background: Foot ulcers are a major concern in diabetic patients with an estimated 25% of this population developing diabetic neuropathy. The current treatments do not directly address reestablishing the integrity of the microvascular circulation which would decrease wound healing time and the expense of wound care. Objectives: To examine the possible benefits of utilizing phototherapy as an adjunct treatment to improve diabetic wound outcomes in nursing practice. Methods: Three data bases were searched: CINAHL Complete, PubMed, and Health Source Nursing and Academic Edition. The search terms were as follows: light therapy, wound healing, low level light therapy, and diabetic patients. Six articles were yielded from these final searches. Results: Phototherapy offers a positive adjunctive method of treatment with existing diabetic wound management strategies. In reviewing phototherapy topics such as therapy parameters, effects at the cellular level, and impacts on quality of life were repeatedly touched on in the research. Conclusions: Phototherapy should be considered as an adjunctive therapy to current medical interventions for wound healing. In practice, nurses can work to standardize a set of treatment parameters for clinical practice and develop a training program to operate phototherapy equipment. Key words: light therapy, wound healing, low level light therapy, and diabetic patients