Joseph Caporusso

Effect of oral nutritional supplementation on wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers

Among people with diabetes, 10–25% will experience a foot ulcer. Research has shown that supplementation with arginine, glutamine and β‐hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate may improve wound repair. This study tested whether such supplementation would improve healing of foot ulcers in persons with diabetes.

A multicentre prospective randomised controlled comparative parallel study of dehydrated human umbilical cord (EpiCord) allograft for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

The aim of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of dehydrated human umbilical cord allograft (EpiCord) compared with alginate wound dressings for the treatment of chronic, non‐healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). A multicentre, randomised, controlled, clinical trial was conducted at 11 centres in the United States. Individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes presenting with a 1 to 15 cm2 ulcer located below the ankle that had been persisting for at least 30 days were eligible for the 14‐day study run‐in phase. After 14 days of weekly debridement, moist wound therapy, and off‐loading, those with ≤30% wound area reduction post‐debridement (n = 155) were randomised in a 2:1 ratio to receive a weekly application of EpiCord (n = 101) or standardised therapy with alginate wound dressing, non‐adherent silicone dressing, absorbent non‐adhesive hydropolymer secondary dressing, and gauze bandage roll (n = 54). All wounds continued to have appropriate off‐loading during the treatment phase of the study. Study visits were conducted for 12 weeks. At each weekly visit, the DFU was cleaned and debrided as necessary, with the wound photographed pre‐ and post‐debridement and measured before the application of treatment group‐specific dressings. A follow‐up visit was performed at week 16. The primary study end point was the percentage of complete closure of the study ulcer within 12 weeks, as assessed by Silhouette camera. Data for randomised subjects meeting study inclusion criteria were included in an intent‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis. Additional analysis was conducted on a group of subjects (n = 134) who completed the study per protocol (PP) (EpiCord, n = 86, alginate, n = 48) and for those subjects receiving adequate debridement (EpiCord, n = 67, alginate, n = 40). ITT analysis showed that DFUs treated with EpiCord were more likely to heal within 12 weeks than those receiving alginate dressings, 71 of 101 (70%) vs 26 of 54 (48%) for EpiCord and alginate dressings, respectively, P = 0.0089. Healing rates at 12 weeks for subjects treated PP were 70 of 86 (81%) for EpiCord‐treated and 26 of 48 (54%) for alginate‐treated DFUs, P = 0.0013. For those DFUs that received adequate debridement (n = 107, ITT population), 64 of 67 (96%) of the EpiCord‐treated ulcers healed completely within 12 weeks, compared with 26 of 40 (65%) of adequately debrided alginate‐treated ulcers, P < 0.0001. Seventy‐five subjects experienced at least one adverse event, with a total of 160 adverse events recorded. There were no adverse events related to either EpiCord or alginate dressings. These results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of EpiCord as a treatment for non‐healing DFUs.

A confirmatory study on the efficacy of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane dHACM allograft in the management of diabetic foot ulcers: A prospective, multicentre, randomised, controlled study of 110 patients from 14 wound clinics

A randomised, controlled multicentre clinical trial was conducted at 14 wound care centres in the United States to confirm the efficacy of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane allograft (dHACM) for the treatment of chronic lower extremity ulcers in persons with diabetes. Patients with a lower extremity ulcer of at least 4 weeks duration were entered into a 2‐week study run‐in phase and treated with alginate wound dressings and appropriate offloading. Those with less than or equal to 25% wound closure after run‐in were randomly assigned to receive weekly dHACM application in addition to offloading or standard of care with alginate wound dressings, for 12 weeks. A total of 110 patients were included in the intent‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis, with n = 54 in the dHACM group and n = 56 in the no‐dHACM group. Of the participants, 98 completed the study per protocol, with 47 receiving dHACM and 51 not receiving dHACM. The primary study outcome was percentage of study ulcers completely healed in 12 weeks, with both ITT and per‐protocol participants receiving weekly dHACM significantly more likely to completely heal than those not receiving dHACM (ITT—70% versus 50%, P = 0.0338, per‐protocol—81% versus 55%, P = 0.0093). A Kaplan–Meier analysis was performed to compare the time‐to‐healing performance with/without dHACM, showing a significantly improved time to healing with the use of allograft, log‐rank P < 0.0187. Cox regression analysis showed that dHACM‐treated subjects were more than twice as likely to heal completely within 12 weeks than no‐dHACM subjects (HR: 2.15, 95% confidence interval 1.30–3.57, P = 0.003). At the final follow up at 16 weeks, 95% of dHACM‐healed ulcers and 86% of healed ulcers in the no‐dHACM group remained closed. These results confirm that dHACM is an efficacious treatment for lower extremity ulcers in a heterogeneous patient population.