Outcome of negative pressure wound therapy on diabetic foot ulcers: an observational study

Abstract

Objective: To compare the treatment effects between negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and traditional therapy in diabetic patients with foot ulcers. Methods: Diabetic patients with foot ulcers were selected from Endocrinology Ward between January 2015 and December 2016. All the patients were consecutively selected to receive NPWT in addition to the traditional therapy. Each patient receiving NPWT was individually matched with a patient receiving only traditional therapy and selected as the control group. Patients were controlled in both groups for age, sex and history of diabetes, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, and severity of the ulcer. Each patient received therapy for 3 months and was evaluated at the end of treatment. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by examining the lesion area before and after the therapy. Outcomes were compared between the two groups using the Chi square test. Results: A total of 62 patients were included in the study, with 31 cases in each group.Three months later, in the NPWT group, 26 patients had good therapeutic effects, 5 patients had poor efficacy, and 4 patients underwent the surgical treatment. While in the control group, only 18 patients had good therapeutic effects, 13 patients had poor efficacy, and 6 patients underwent surgical treatment. The effective percentage was significantly higher in NPWT group than that of the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion: NPWT can effectively improve the healing process of patients with diabetic foot ulcers in 3 months.