Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus. Considering complicated conditions, poor general condition, severe infection and poor outcomes as the feature characteristics of Chinese DFU patients, comprehensive and systematic evaluation, including general condition, region of the foot, and psychological status, is essential and fundamental for successful treatment. This commentary summarizes the evaluation contents in scientific and standardized diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot ulcer, and looking forward to reducing morbidity, recurrence rate and mortality, and increasing limb salvage rate.
ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological characteristics and predisposing causes of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in the hospitalized patients with diabetic foot disease (DFD).MethodsThe clinical data of patients with DFD admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2018 were collected through the electronic medical record system. The demographic characteristics, blood glucose control status, and the predisposing causes of DFU were analyzed.ResultsA total of 1 022 DFD inpatients with an average age of (65.5±11.9) years old were included in this study, including 679 males and 343 females; 59.4% (513/864) of the patients had a college degree or above, but the patients with more severe DFD had lower educational level (χ2trend=19.554, P<0.001). The average time from diagnosis of diabetes mellitus to occurrence of DFD was (10.6±7.1) years, and 42.4% (433/1 022) of the patients had diabetes for over 10 years. Among the patients, 82.3% (841/1 022) treated diabetes irregularly, 56.2% (555/987) never monitored blood glucose, 51.2% (523/1 022) had a history of foot ulcers, and 8.6% (88/1 022) had a history of lower extremity or toe amputation. The average fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c were (8.6±3.8) mmol/L and (8.2±2.1)%, respectively. There were 52.2% (525/1 006) and 94.4% (958/1 015) of the DFD patients companied with peripheral arterial disease and neuropathy, respectively. DFUs were mainly single (52.7%, 447/849) and neuro-ischemic ulcers (53.0%, 389/734). The main predisposing causes were physical causes (21.6%, 180/834) and trauma (19.2%, 160/834).ConclusionsThe patients with DFD have the characteristics of old age, long course of diabetes, irregular treatment of diabetes and poor control of blood glucose, combined with neurovascular diseases, and high recurrence rate of foot ulcer. Therefore, diabetes education, early screening of foot risk factors, and early intervention should be strengthened to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of DFU.
Collagenase can promote wound healing, and its effect depends on the degradation of necrotic tissue and the collagen degradation products produced by collagenase. The possible mechanisms include accelerating re-epithelialization, promoting the formation of granulation tissue and blood vessels, and regulating inflammatory response. At present, clinical studies have shown that collagenase combined with sharp debridement or negative pressure wound therapy can significantly promote the healing of diabetic foot ulcers, and its efficacy is similar to that of hydrocolloid occlusive dressing and silver-containing wound dressings. Collagenase can promote the repair of diabetic foot ulcers, but its effect is affected by many factors, and large-sample, good design, high quality and multi-center randomized controlled trials are still needed to explore its efficacy and appropriate use conditions. This paper expounds that collagenase is one of the options in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers from mechanism and clinical effect.
The annual incidence of diabetic foot ulcers in China is as high as 8.1%, which ranks first among the causes of chronic wounds in China. Although through the efforts of several generations of podiatrists and the building of multidisciplinary collaboration team, the major amputation rate in patients with diabetic foot ulcers in China has been decreased significantly, it is still far higher than the level of developed countries in Europe and the United States. Therefore, in order to cope with the increasing occurrence and recurrence of refractory diabetic foot ulcers, in addition to further optimizing the construction of multidisciplinary collaboration team, it is an urgent topic for us to explore the construction of a multidisciplinary integrated team to seamlessly connect the diagnosis and treatment of different aspects of foot disease. This article describes the importance and necessity of building a wound repair center with Chinese characteristics, which is a model of multidisciplinary integrated team, aiming at provide a theoretical basis for establishing a multidisciplinary integrated management model and realizing seamless connection between diagnosis and treatment, so as to further improve the cure rate of diabetic foot ulcers.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical efficacy of ultrasound debridement combined with autolytic debridement in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.MethodsA total of 60 diabetic foot ulcers patients who were diagnosed and treated in Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University from April 2019 to April 2020 were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups, with 30 cases in each group. The trial group received autolytic cleansing combined with ultrasound debridement treatment, and the control group only received autolytic debridement treatment. The baseline conditions, wound treatment efficacy, number of dressing changes, length of hospital stay, treatment cost, wound healing time, wound shrinkage rate, and the time required for the wound to turn into 100% red granulation were compared between the two groups.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in gender, age, duration of diabetes or Wagner grade of diabetic foot between the two groups (P>0.05). The efficacy of wound healing in the trial group was better than that in the control group (Z=−2.146, P=0.032). The number of dressing changes [(11.76±2.23) vs. (17.34±4.43) times] and the length of stay [(18.03±3.73) vs. (25.43±4.43) d] in the trial group were lower than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The difference in treatment cost between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The wound healing time of the trial group [(48.43±18.34) vs. (65.24±19.62) d], the wound shrinkage rate [(78.35±8.34)% vs. (56.53±6.54)%] and the time required for the wound to turn into 100% red granulation [(16.34±2.42) vs. (24.55±3.23) d] were better than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). During the treatment process, no patient in the trial group had wound bleeding and had difficulty in stopping bleeding during ultrasonic debridement, and no patient had intolerable pain related to ultrasonic debridement. No patients in either group withdrew early.ConclusionsUltrasound debridement combined with autolytic debridement can effectively improve the curative effect of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and shorten the wound healing time. Therefore, it is worthy of promotion and application in the wound care of patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
Objective To explore the effectiveness of microdissected thin thoracodorsal arterial perforator flap (TDAP) in repairing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Methods The clinical data of 11 patients with DFUs admitted between March 2020 and February 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 5 males and 6 females, aged from 22 to 67 years, with an average of 49.3 years. There were 10 cases of type 2 diabetes and 1 case of type 1 diabetes; the duration of diabetes ranged from 3 months to 25 years (median, 8 months). The duration of DFUs ranged from 6 days to 120 months (median, 1 month). There were 6 cases of grade 3 and 5 cases of grade 4 according to Wagner classification. The tissue necrosis and purulent secretions were found in all ulcer wounds, as well as different degrees of tendon and bone exposure; skin defects ranged from 5 cm×3 cm to 17 cm×6 cm. The DFUs were repaired by microdissected thin TDAP, including 6 cases of flaps (including 1 case of lobulated flap), ranging from 10.0 cm×4.5 cm to 26.0 cm×7.0 cm; 5 cases of chimeric perforator flaps, the range of the flap was 10.0 cm×4.5 cm to 16.0 cm×5.5 cm, and the range of the muscle flap was 6 cm×2 cm to 10 cm×3 cm. The donor site was sutured directly. Results The operation time ranged from 3.42 to 11.17 hours, with an average of 5.92 hours. All 11 flaps survived and no vascular crisis occurred; 1 patient had a sinus at the edge of the flap, and the surgical area healed well after dressing change. All 11 patients were followed up 6-12 months, with an average of 9 months. The flap texture was good, the recipient site was in good shape, and there was no swelling; the foot contour was good, the shoes were comfortable to wear, and the movement was good. The incision at the donor site healed by first intention, leaving only linear and concealed scar, without obvious depression deformity, and the shoulder joint function was good. Conclusion On the premise of ensuring sufficient blood supply to the lower extremities and strengthening perioperative management, the microdissected thin TDAP to repair DFUs wounds can achieve better effectiveness and appearance; however, the prolonged operation time increases the probability of anesthesia and surgical risks in patients with DFUs.