Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used as a treatment modality for diabetic wound ulcers recently. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of HBOT in the management of diabetic ulcer using Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 patients with diabetic ulcer were included in this prospective, randomized, controlled study. Patients were randomly divided into two equal-sized (n = 25) study groups. Patients in Group CT received only conventional therapy and in Group HT received HBOT along with conventional therapy. Wound ulcers were analyzed on 0, 10(th), 20(th), and 30(th) sessions using Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft (MS) Office Excel Software with the Chi-square test (level of significance, P = 0.05). RESULTS: The healing recovery rate as changes in the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool from the 0(th) to 10(th) session in Group CT 0.88 ± 1.09 as compared to Group HT 9.96 ± 2.73 improved significantly with P = 0.0001. The grading score recorded from the 10(th) to 20(th) session in Group CT 3.73 ± 2.55 as compared to Group HT 10.40 ± 2.47 improved statistically significant, P = 0.0001. The grading score recorded from 20th to 30th session in Group CT 6.16 ± 2.01 as compared to Group HT 6.46 ± 2.19, P = 0.646 was not significant. CONCLUSION: HBOT has a definitive adjunctive treatment option in healing diabetic ulcers and improving quality of life.