Early clinical experience with a topical desiccating agent for wound bed preparation in diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a major complication of diabetes, often requiring effective wound bed preparation for healing. This retrospective case series assessed a novel topical desiccating agent (TDA) used under a compassionate-use protocol approved by the institutional ethics board. A total of 67 patients with hard-to-heal (chronic) DFUs treated between 2020 and 2023 were included. Granulation was achieved in 88.1% of patients (mean time: 44.3 days), and 85.1% reached complete re-epithelialisation. No adverse events were reported. TDA was well tolerated and showed promising clinical outcomes in a high-risk patient population, supporting further evaluation in prospective studies.