A Prospective Study on Combined Use of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and Topical Oxygen Therapy on Diabetic Ulcers

Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of combined use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPOT) and topical oxygen therapy (TOT) over conventional wound therapy (CWT) in healing of diabetic wounds Method: Using a Random number table, a total of thirty patients with diabetic wounds were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 15, receiving Negative pressure wound therapy) and the intervention group (n = 15, receiving Topical oxygen therapy in addition to Negative pressure wound therapy). The patients received continuous treatment for two weeks. Subsequently, the two groups pre -and post -treatment granulation tissue coverage rate, pain, severity, and scores from the pressure ulcer scale for healing (push) were compared. Furthermore, comparisons were made between the two groups' rates of bacterial culture positivity, healing rates, and healing times. Results: In both groups, the push scores were considerably lower after treatment compared to pretreatment levels, and the intervention group's scores were lower than the control group's (all p<0.05) From day 3 to day14 posttreatment, both groups' granulation tissue coverage rates increased progressively; nevertheless, at that time, the intervention group's coverage rate was higher than the control group's (all p<0.05). After treatment, the intervention group's bacterial culture positive rate was significantly lesser when compared to before treatment, and it was also significantly lower in the intervention group than it was in the control group (all p<0.05). In all groups, the vas scores showed a substantial drop following treatment when compared to pretreatment values. Notably, the intervention group had greater decreases than the control group (all p<0.05). At the 3 -month follow -up, the intervention group's wound healing rate was higher and its healing duration was shorter than the control group's (all p<0.05). Conclusion:Combining topical oxygen therapy with negative pressure wound therapy can significantly accelerate the rate at which granulation tissue covers the wound, speeding up the healing process.Therefore, topical oxygen therapy combined with negative pressure wound therapy is a more successful way to treat diabetic wounds in patients than negative pressure wound therapy alone.