Use of light emitting diode (led) in the healing of burns: systematic review of the literature

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of burn victims is challenging because of the severity of the lesion itself and the complications that may occur during the healing process. Dermatofunctional physiotherapy works in the treatment of scars, using therapies to accelerate the cicatricial process and adequate functional recovery. The light emitting diode or LED has been described as a valuable therapeutic possibility for physiotherapy with the aim of reducing functional and aesthetic complications in the cicatricial processes of burned individuals. OBJECTIVES: To review the literature on the use of LED light and its effects on tissue healing in burn injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a systematic review of the literature, conducted in August 2017, using the Bireme, PubMed and PeDro databases, based on PRISMA criteria. The study included articles that addressed the use of LED in the specific healing of burns, published in the last five years (2012 -2017), in the English and Portuguese languages. The exclusion criteria were articles that addressed the use of LED in tissue healing in general. The selection of articles was carried out by two authors, and there was no consensus between the two, a third author would be called, which was not necessary in this search. RESULTS: A total of 1,029 articles were found in the search, of which 04 articles were included, which addressed the use of LEDs in the specific cicatrization of burns published from 2012 to 2017. All studies found improvements of the cicatricial process using LED, even though different wavelengths were used in the analyzed works. CONCLUSION: The use of LED in the treatment of burns has favored the healing process in animals and improve the histological aspects in the treated tissues, but still little used in physiotherapy.