Vaccum assisted closure of diabetic ulcers

Abstract

Diabetes affects more than a 100 million people worldwide. Around 10.5% of Americans and 10.9-14.2% of Indians are diabetics, and therefore susceptible to its complications of microangiopathy, neuropathy and poor wound healing, all of which contribute to high incidence of ulcers, particularly of the distal extermities, even after trivial trauma. Management of these ulcers require systemic management of diabetes and its complications in these patients. Vaccum assisted closure of Diabetic Ulcers, by application of its principle of Negative Pressure to the wound has gained popularity due to early appearance of granulation tissue, facilitation of secondary wound closure and decreased duration of hospital stay. We studied 80 patients with diabetic ulcers from December 2017 to November 2019, randomly assigning them to two groups, Vaccum Assisted Closure versus conventional moist wound dressing to ascertain any possible benefit of Negative Pressure wound therapy with respect to appearance of granulation tissue, secondary closure after the therapy, interval for skin grafting, duration of hospital stay.