Volunteers needed to test maggots' medical magic (From Gazette & Herald)

Volunteers needed to test maggots' medical magic

VOLUNTEERS in Ryedale are needed to test the medical magic of maggots.

Maggots eat dead tissue, which cleans wounds. Napoleon's battle surgeon knew it and medical orderlies from the American Civil War to the trenches of the Western Front discovered it, but the arrival of antibiotics meant it was forgotten.

Now Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust (PCT) is one of several health trusts taking part in a University of York-led experiment to find out if maggots heal wounds quicker than conventional medicine.

"We're looking for patients with leg ulcers," said Una Adderley, tissue viability nurse for the PCT.

"I can assure them that the maggots we use are sterile, bred for this purpose, and have nothing to do with fishing!"

She added that they are only applied for three days.

Maggots are already used in the area and were made available via GP's prescription last year.

"You often find that the health professionals are more squeamish than the patients," said Una, who is based in Malton Hospital.

She added: "I would urge patients to take part in this important research."

The £750,000 three-year study is being co-ordinated by the University of York's Department of Health Sciences. It is the largest clinical study into larval therapy ever mounted. It aims, ultimately, to help to reduce the annual £600m cost to the NHS of treating leg ulcers, which affect one per cent of the UK population.

A third of the patients will be treated with loose sterile maggots, a third with sterile maggots in a bag, while the remainder will be given a standard treatment using hydrogel. The trial, called VenUS II, will compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the two types of larval therapy with the more conventional treatment, as well as the effect on patients' quality of life over 12 months.

Trial co-ordinator Dr Pauline Raynor said: "Patients will have the chance to take part in an exciting study which will find out whether maggots really do heal ulcers more quickly. We need a total of 600 patients to come forward to take part in this important research.

"Of the people who have volunteered so far, squeamishness does not appear to be an issue at all. There is, however, no guarantee everyone who volunteers will get maggots because a third of patients will be treated more conventionally."

For more information about the trial, or to find out how larvae therapy could possibly help you or someone you know, call (0800) 138 3461. Alternatively, you can contact Una at Malton Hospital on (01653) 604549.

Updated: 14:25 Wednesday, January 19, 2005