Objective: This study investigated the efficacy of enzyme alginogel (EA) and topical epidermal growth factor (EGF) in treating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Methods: Sixteen patients with Wagner stage I or II DFUs were randomly assigned to either the enzyme alginogel or epidermal growth factor treatment group for two months. Ulcer size (width, height, depth) was measured weekly. Results: While both treatments resulted in ulcer size reduction, no statistically significant difference in healing was observed between the two groups (before and after treatment respectively height p= 0.584, p=0.834, width p=0.38, p=0.83, depth p=0.90, p=0.23, p0.05). Complete epithelialization was not achieved in five patients (two participants from enzyme alginogel gel, three participants from epidermal growth factor group). Conclusion: This study suggests that both enzyme alginogel and topical epidermal growth factor are effective in promoting healing in superficial diabetic foot ulcers, but further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up period is needed to confirm these findings and explore their effectiveness in more complex ulcer cases.
Geyik et al. (Wed,) studied this question.