Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness of Shock Wave Therapy Plus Rehabilitation Versus Rehabilitation Alone for Post-Burn Hypertrophic Scars in Adults

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy ESWT combined with standard rehabilitation compared to standard rehabilitation alone for adults with hypertrophic post-burn scars. The study focuses on clinical outcomes like pain intensity, itching, and scar quality, as well as economic outcomes including cost per quality-adjusted life year QALY, direct medical costs, and indirect costs such as absenteeism and reduced productivity. The findings will help guide health policy and resource allocation for advanced burn rehabilitation treatments. Participants aged 18 to 65 with hypertrophic scars at least 6 months after a burn injury will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group will receive ESWT weekly for 8 weeks alongside a rehabilitation program involving physical therapy, scar management exercises, and patient education. The control group will receive the standard rehabilitation therapy alone, which includes physical, occupational, and scar-specific therapies, matched in frequency and duration to the experimental group but without ESWT. During the study, participants will be assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment. Evaluations will include measures of pain using a Visual Analog Scale, itching with the Itch Man Scale, and scar quality using the Vancouver Scar Scale. Researchers will also monitor costs related to therapy sessions, equipment, hospital visits, and work productivity. This comprehensive follow-up will provide both clinical and economic data over a 6-month period to understand the impact of combining ESWT with rehabilitation.

Cost-Effectiveness of ESWT Plus Rehabilitation vs Rehabilitation Alone in Post-Burn Scars