Effect of Adjuvant Hyperbaric Oxygen Versus Routine Wound Care on Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing: A comparative Study

Background: A diabetic foot ulcer is a challenging complication of diabetes thathas become a global health problem. The treatment process is troublesome for thepatient and healthcare team, especially in advanced cases. Hyperbaric Oxygentherapy (HBOT) in combination with standard methods of diabetic foot ulcersmanagement appears to be more effective than standard methods alone. Aim: Tocompare the effect of adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy versus routine woundon diabetic foot ulcer healing. Subjects and Method: Design: A prospective non-experimental comparative study. Setting: at the medical, surgical and vascularsurgery departments, outpatient clinics and hyperbaric oxygen therapy unit atNasser Institute for Research and Treatment Cairo-Egypt. Subjects: sixty adultmale and female patients with diabetic foot ulcer divided into two groups 30patients in each of (the HBOT with standard wound management and standardwound management alone group) who met the inclusion criteria. Tools: I:Patient’s assessment data include: demographic and clinical backgroundinformation form, II: Wagner classification system, III: Numeric Pain scale andIV: MUNGS tool. Results: There was statistically significant difference betweenthe two groups regarding Wagner score at the end of two and three months (T=2.193, P=0.032) (T= 2.163, P=0.035) respectively. There was significantdifference regarding pain severity at the end of three months (T= 2.538, P=0.014).There was statistically significant difference between the two groups regardingMUNGS score at the end of three months follow-up (T= 2.298, P=0.025).Conclusion: HBOT in combination with standard methods of diabetic foot ulcersmanagement appears to be more effective than standard methods alone