Use of Neem oil and Hypericum perforatum for treatment of calcinosis-related skin ulcers in systemic sclerosis

Objective This study evaluated Neem oil and Hypericum perforatum (Holoil®) for treatment of scleroderma skin ulcers related to calcinosis (SU-calc). Procedure: We retrospectively analyzed 21 consecutive systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with a total of 33 SU-calcs treated daily with Holoil® cream co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of international medical research 2020-04, Vol.48 (4), p.300060519882176-300060519882176
Main Authors: Giuggioli, Dilia, Lumetti, Federica, Spinella, Amelia, Cocchiara, Emanuele, Sighinolfi, Gianluca, Citriniti, Giorgia, Colaci, Michele, Salvarani, Carlo, Ferri, Clodoveo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Calcinosis - drug therapy
Glycerides
Humans
Hypericum
Retrospective Clinical Research Report
Retrospective Studies
Scleroderma
Scleroderma, Systemic - complications
Scleroderma, Systemic - drug therapy
Skin diseases
Skin Ulcer - drug therapy
Skin Ulcer - etiology
Systemic sclerosis
Terpenes
Topical medication
Ulcers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective This study evaluated Neem oil and Hypericum perforatum (Holoil®) for treatment of scleroderma skin ulcers related to calcinosis (SU-calc). Procedure: We retrospectively analyzed 21 consecutive systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with a total of 33 SU-calcs treated daily with Holoil® cream compared with a control group of 20 patients with 26 SU-calcs. Holoil® was directly applied to skin lesions, while the control group received only standard medication. Results Application of Holoil® either resulted in crushing and complete resolution of calcium deposits or facilitated sharp excision of calcinosis during wound care sessions in 27/33 cases (81.8%). Complete healing of SU-calc occurred in 15/33 (45%) of cases within a time period of 40.1 ± 16.3 (mean ± SD) days, while 18/33 (55%) of lesions improved in terms of size, erythema, fibrin and calcium deposits. Patients reported a reduction of pain (mean numeric rating scale 7.3 ± 1.9 at baseline versus 2.9 ± 1.4 at follow-up) The control group had longer healing times and a higher percentage of infections. Conclusions The efficacy of local treatment with neem oil and Hypericum perforatum suggest that Holoil® could be a promising tool in the management of SSc SU-calc.
ISSN:0300-0605
1473-2300
DOI:10.1177/0300060519882176