Ultrasonic Assisted Diabetic Foot Ulcer Debridement Versus Conventional Surgical Debridement

An estimated 15% of patients with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer sometime in their life, making them 30 to 40 times more likely to undergo amputation than the non-diabetic population. This study is designed to determine the efficacy of a new, non-contact, kilohertz ultrasound debridement therapy for the healing of diabetic foot ulcers as compared to sharp/surgical debridement. This randomized clinical trial was conducted at zagazig (DFU) outpatient clinic. 50 patients with 50 ulcers of Wagner’s Type 1 and 2 received standard care in their respective wards, debridement of the ulcers, measurement of actual ulcer size and evaluation of pain during procedure. The intervention was either active 24 KHz ultrasound delivered by a saline mist for debridement or bed side sharp surgical debridement. After 2 weeks of care, the improvement in the wounds in the active ultrasound therapy device group was significantly higher than that in the sharp debridement. There was also significant reduction in the size of the ulcers statistically. The pain experienced during the debridement was significantly lower in the group that underwent ultra sound debridement. The ultrasound treatment was easy to use. Compared to control, this therapeutic modality was found to increase the healing rate, Wagner’s Type I and 2 diabetic foot ulcers, increase patient satisfaction and at the same time causes less pain. KEYWORDS: ultrasound debridement, diabetic foot ulcer, randomized trial.