ArticleCase reports in plastic surgery & hand surgery2026
Infections following medical leech therapy for rhizarthrosis: a case series.
Article in Case reports in plastic surgery & hand surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Medical leech therapy is used as an alternative treatment for chronic pain conditions, including rhizarthrosis. During leech therapy, the leech releases a variety of bioactive substances that are intended to alleviate symptoms and relieve pain. The procedure is often described as a 'natural' and risk-free form of naturopathic treatment. However, medical leech therapy is associated with risks and potential complications, among which infection is one of the most common. According to the literature, these infections may be caused by Aeromonas spp. as well as other pathogens. Treatment typically consists of intravenous antibiotic therapy combined with surgical intervention. We report a case series of five patients who presented to the Department of Hand Surgery at Waldfriede Hospital with infections following medical leech therapy for rhizarthrosis. No consistent microbiological pattern of causative pathogens was observed. Several strategies for preventing infections associated with medical leech therapy have been described in the literature. Nevertheless, serious infectious complications cannot be entirely excluded.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.