New antioxidant therapy for hard-to-heal neuroischaemic diabetic foot ulcers with deep exposure.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a new antioxidant therapy for the treatment of complex neuroischaemic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). METHOD: A prospective case series study has been conducted in patients with complex neuroischaemic DFUs after transmetatarsal amputation. DFUs were locally treated with an antioxidant dressing twice a week for the first two weeks, and then once a week until the end of the study or complete wound closure. Patients were followed-up for eight weeks and assessed weekly to analyse wound outcome. Primary outcomes were the wound closure ratio and percentage of granulation tissue; secondary outcomes were parameters related to wound management, namely, presence of non-viable tissue in the wound bed, levels of maceration and exudates, presence of erythema and pain. RESULTS: A total of 20 patients were included with a mean baseline wound area of 20.4cm2. At 8 weeks, the mean reduction in wound area was 88.1% (p<0.0001) and complete closure was observed in 33% of cases. In addition, there was a mean increase of 94.7% in granulation tissue in the wound bed (p<0.0001). Furthermore, the therapy was associated with a significant percentage reduction in wounds with non-viable tissue, good exudate management, and the maintenance of low levels of maceration, erythema and pain. CONCLUSION: The new antioxidant therapy was associated with good clinical outcomes in large hard-to-heal neuroischaemic DFUs, with significant wound area reduction and granulation tissue formation. The therapy was also found to be safe and perform well from a practical perspective.

Wound Dressing Selection Is Critical to Enhance Platelet-Rich Fibrin Activities in Wound Care.

The use of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is investigated in ulcer management because it provides a healing milieu rich in growth factors and cytokines. Although crucial, the relevance of secondary dressings is under-researched and no data support the use of any particular dressing in preference to another. We assessed the properties of different dressing categories, including alginates, hydrocolloids, foams, hydrofibers, films, meshes and gauzes, in terms of affinity for PRF, releasate management (retention/extrusion) and the kinetics of cytokine release as well as the influence of each combination product, [PRF + dressing], on dermal cell behaviour, aiming to provide useful information for choosing the most adequate dressing for each particular patient. Active dressings including alginates, hydrofibers, foams and hydrocolloids blend with PRF, creating a diverse combination of products with different performances. Alginate and hydrofiber showed the highest affinity but moderate retention of releasate, without interfering with cell functions. Instead, the foam sequestered the releasate and hindered the release of growth factors, thereby compromising cell activities. Film and mesh presented very poor releasate retention and performed similarly to PRF by itself. Affinity index and releasate management explained 79% of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) concentration variability, p < 0.001. Cell proliferation depended on the ability of the combination product to retain/release supernatant, PDGF-BB concentration and cell adhesion R2 = 0.91, p = 0.014.

Safety and efficacy of daptomycin in outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy: a prospective and multicenter cohort study (DAPTODOM trial).

BACKGROUND: Daptomycin is an optimal choice for outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) because of its safety, once-daily administration and its activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Although daptomycin is increasingly being used in OPAT, limited information about its safety in this scenario is available. METHODS: We performed a prospective multicentre pilot study to evaluate the safety of daptomycin in outpatients with proved or suspected Gram-positive infections (DAPTODOM). The primary objective was to evaluate the safety and the secondary objective to evaluate the efficacy in OPAT. We also looked at the development of daptomycin resistance in those cases with microbiological failure. RESULTS: We included 54 patients from 12 Spanish hospitals, 67% male with a mean age of 67.1 years. Most patients (87%) had chronic underlying diseases. The main reason for inclusion was skin and soft-tissue infections in 52%, followed by bacteremia or endocarditis in 34%. Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 44% of the isolates (24% were methicillin-resistant), coagulase-negative staphylococci 15% and enterococci 7%. Two patients (4%) had to be readmitted because of complications; only one patient had an adverse effect related to daptomycin (increase in serum creatine kinase levels), which disappeared after discontinuation (2%). At the end of follow-up, 96% of patients had good outcome and only 4% of patients did not have a clinical or microbiological cure. The use of a 2-minute bolus in 18 cases was not associated with adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Daptomycin was safe and efficacious in outpatients with Gram-positive bacterial infections and can be administered in 2-minute bolus infusion.

Biological approach for the management of non-healing diabetic foot ulcers.

OBJECTIVE: To show an approach to profit of the main components of platelet rich plasma (PRP), i.e. the signaling proteins, and the fibrin scaffold and discuss the intervention within TIME (Tissue, Inflammation/Infection, Moisture, Edges) framework. METHODS: Two patients with diabetic foot ulcers are treated with both liquid and gelled PRP, and the rationale for the PRP intervention is described herein. Autologous blood is withdrawn and, PRP is separated by single spinning and activated with CaCl2 prior to application. PRP is injected in an activated liquid form, i.e. freshly activated, before coagulation, within the wound edges. In fibrotic tissue PRP is introduced performing a needling procedure. In addition, PRP, clotted ex-vivo, is applied in the wound bed as a primary dressing. RESULTS: Both patients responded positively to PRP intervention. Case 1 healed after five weekly PRP applications. Case 2 healed after eight weekly PRP applications. Patient satisfaction was high in both cases. The procedure had no complications, is well tolerated and easy to perform in any medical setting. CONCLUSION: PRP intervention is safe and if associated with correct tissue debridement and preparation of the host tissue it may help to decrease the burden of diabetic foot ulcers. Carefully designed randomized clinical trials with special attention to the PRP procedure are needed to assess the efficacy of these interventions.