In a nutshell
This study looked at patients with diabetic foot ulcers that had not healed after standard wound care. This study found that topical oxygen significantly improved the healing rate of diabetic ulcers.
Some background
People with diabetes can develop neuropathy (damage to the nerves). This nerve damage leads to numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. With less sensation, patients are at risk of injuring their feet. Wounds often heal very slowly in people with diabetes and can become infected.
When diabetic wounds are not healing, one treatment option is topical oxygen (TO). This involves placing the foot in a chamber connected to an oxygen tank. TO supplies oxygen directly to the wound, which avoids complications. Whether TO helps heal foot ulcers in patients with diabetes is unclear.
Methods & findings
This study included 73 patients with persistent diabetic foot ulcers. 89% of patients had Type 2 diabetes, and 11% had Type 1 diabetes. 36 patients received TO, and 37 patients received a sham treatment using air instead of oxygen. Patients were followed for 1 year.
After 12 weeks, 41.7% of patients treated with TO had their ulcers heal compared to 13.5% in the control group. Patients in the TO group had a 3.64-fold higher chance of completely healing compared to the control group. Overall, TO significantly increased the odds of wound healing by 4.57 to 6.00-fold.
1 year after treatment, 56% of patients treated with TO had healed, whereas 27% of patients in the control group had healed. Over 12 weeks, TO significantly increased the odds of wound healing by 4.66-fold compared to the control group.
Overall, 8 patients in each group had side effects. However, these were not related to TO treatment.
The bottom line
This study found that TO significantly improved healing for patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The authors suggest that topical oxygen combined with standard wound care may help wound healing better than standard care alone.
The fine print
This study was sponsored by AOTI Ltd, which sells topical oxygen devices.
What’s next?
If you have diabetic ulcers, talk to your doctor about treatment options.
Published By :
Diabetes Care
Date :
Oct 16, 2019
