Therapeutic effect of continuous diffusion of oxygen therapy combined with traditional moist wound dressing therapy in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Aims: To investigate the therapeutic effect of continuous diffusion of oxygen (CDO) combined with traditional moist wound dressing (MWD) on the diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) inpatients.

Methods: The inpatients from May 2016 to April 2018 were enrolled and randomly divided into MWD, CDO and combination treatment groups (n = 40 each group). The moist dressing was used in the MWD group while a micro-oxygen supply device was used in the CDO group. The combination treatment group was given both MWD and CDO. All patients were treated for 8 weeks. The wound healing, amputation rate, and inflammatory control were evaluated.

Results: Compared with MWD and CDO groups, the combination group showed a higher wound healing rate (P < 0.05), lower white blood cell count (P < 0.05) and lower high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (P < 0.05). During 1-year follow-up, the amputation rate was 0% in combination group, which was significantly lower than that in other two groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The combination of MWD and CDO was effective in promoting healing and preventing infection of DFUs, which holds a potential to be a new strategy for the treatment of this critical clinical condition.