Adjunctive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for Lower Extermity Diabetic Ulcer:

Diabetic foot ulcers are associated with high risk of amputation. About 50% of patients undergoing non-traumatic lower limb amputations are diabetics5. The 5-year amputation rate is estimated to be 19% with a mean time to amputation 58 months since the onset of an diabetic foot ulcer6.Because infection and tissue hypoxia are the major contributing factors for non-healing diabetic foot ulcers, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) carries a potential benefit for treating these problematic wounds that do not respond to standard therapy. The role of oxygen in the wound healing cascade and subsequent combatting action against bacterial invasion, especially anaerobes, is well documented.14 Delayed or arrested healing and the development of infection is a direct result from decreased perfusion and poor oxygenation of tissue.15 The presence of wound hypoxia is an major etiological pathway in the development of chronic non-healing diabetic foot ulcers