What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted a prospective open study involving 100 patients with chronic diabetic foot ulcers resistant to conventional treatment to evaluate adjunctive topical hyperbaric oxygen and low energy laser therapy.
What They Found
The study found an 81% cure rate for diabetic foot ulcers after an average of 25 treatments over 3.2 months. During an 18-month follow-up, only 4% (3/81) of healed ulcers reulcerated, responding to retreatment. Non-responders had significantly lower ankle brachial indices (0.55 vs. 0.78, p < 0.01) and often required amputation.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients with chronic diabetic foot ulcers that have not responded to standard treatments might benefit from adjunctive topical hyperbaric oxygen and low energy laser therapy. This combination therapy could potentially improve healing rates and reduce the risk of reulceration, offering a new treatment avenue for a challenging condition.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada or with Canadian participants.
Study Limitations
A key limitation of this study is its open and uncontrolled design, which may introduce bias and limit the generalizability of the findings.