The Role of Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index and Prognostic Nutritional Index in Predicting Outcomes of Chinese Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers After Moist Exposed Burn Ointment Treatment

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in predicting healing outcomes in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) treated with Moist Exposed Burn Ointment (MeBo). Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 273 DFU patients treated at the First Hospital of Qinhuangdao (January 2022–December 2024). Patients were categorized into complete healing (n=123) and non-healing (n=150) groups based on 12-week outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of healing. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis evaluated the discriminative abilities of SII and PNI. Results: Compared to the non-healing group, the complete healing group exhibited significantly lower SII (1444.82± 560.26 vs. 2979.88± 1357.18, P< 0.001) and higher PNI (38.17± 5.20 vs. 31.65± 5.54, P< 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that SII had strong predictive ability (AUC=0.920, P< 0.001; optimal threshold 1901.48), with 86.0% sensitivity and 83.7% specificity. PNI showed moderate predictive capacity (AUC=0.811, P< 0.001). Notably, the combined model (SII+PNI) demonstrated superior predictive performance (AUC=0.940), achieving 89.3% sensitivity and 87.0% specificity. Conclusion: SII and PNI are robust prognostic biomarkers for DFU patients treated with MeBo. Elevated SII acts as a risk factor for non-healing, while higher PNI serves as a protective factor. Integrating these indices into clinical practice may facilitate early risk assessment and guide therapeutic strategies to improve healing outcomes.