Study on the effect of ankle pump motion on wound healing of diabetic foot ulcer

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of ankle pump on wound healing of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) . Methods Using convenience sampling method, patients hospitalized in Podiatry Department of Tianjin Medical University Metabolic Diseases Hospital from July to December 2015 and eligible for inclusion-exclusion criteria were recruited to control group, and patients who were hospitalized from May to October 2016 were recruited to observation group according inclusion-exclusion criteria. A total of 162 patients with DFU were recruited and 156 patients completed the whole study, with 72 cases in observation group and 84 cases in control group. Routine treatment and nursing care of DFU were given to both groups, and on the basis of that ankle pump motion therapy training was given to the observation group. After treatment for 9 weeks, the foot ulcer area, healing condition, transcutaneous arterial oxygen tension (TcPO2) , foot skin temperature and ankle brachial index (ABI) were compared. In addition, the adverse events throughout the process of the two groups were recorded. Results After 9-week treatment, the healing rate of observation group was higher than the control group, and the difference wasn't statistically significant (χ2=3.714, P=0.054) . The area of foot ulcer of both groups decreased, and the difference wasn't statistically significant before and after treatment (P 0.05) . There was no statistical difference of TcPO2, ABI and skin temperature between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05) . In observation group, Wagner grading Ⅱ patients' skin temperature and ABI, Wagner grading Ⅲ patients' TcPO2 and skin temperature, Wagner grading Ⅳ patients' TcPO2 were all higher than those of the control group, with statistical difference (P<0.01) . There were 4 cases of asymptomatic hypoglycemia in each group, and there was no statistical difference of adverse event in both groups. Conclusions The ankle pump motion has a positive effect on the wound healing of DFU, which has the advantage of high safety. Key words: Diabetic foot; Ulcer; Ankle pump motion