Hyperbaric oxygen vs standard wound therapy in reducing amputations in diabetic foot ulcers

Abstract

Overview of the topic: (Plus, 2019) mentioned; Diabetes is known for the many complication factors; foot ulcers are one of the associated complications with this condition. (Organization, 2021) stated that diabetes mellitus is a chronic, metabolic disease identified by raised levels of blood glucose which then leads to severe injuries to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves, and foot problems. (Francisco, 2021)If foot problems occur and are being untreated might lead to amputations. (Palumbo PJ, 1985) emphasizes that amputations significantly lead to high morbidity and mortality rates and also high health care costs in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Factors that can be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy consist of severe infections, bubbles of air in the blood vessels, and diabetic wounds. Research Question: adults with diabetic foot ulcers and comparing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Standard Wound care to prevent complications? PICO Elements: The population studied comprised of adults with DFUs. The intervention under review was the effectiveness of HBOT. The comparison intervention was comparing ST to adjuvant HBOT to improve the DFUs. The expected outcome was to reduce amputations. Methods: The key terms of the PICO question were used as keywords to create alternative terms. These terms were joined using Boolean operators. Limiters were selected to narrow the results of the search. The combined terms were searched in several databases PRISMA was used to prevent irrelevant articles. The inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to make the search process more specific to the PICO question. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was utilized to critically appraise the literature. Results: a total of 4 articles were found. These include 4 Randomised Controlled Trials articles. Almost all of the articles found significant improvement in the wound size, thus very few amputations occurred. Conclusion: The current evidence suggests that patients who have DFUs might benefit from adjuvant Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy combined with Standard wound care. More research has to be carried out on this field can provide conclusive results. Implications and Recommendations: Public awareness are very important to prevent diabetes and management, especially for those at high risk or already suffering from diabetes. Furthermore, screening tools to diagnose such individuals must be developed and clinical management guidelines must be enhanced.