Treating diabetic foot ulcers with antimicrobial wound dressing impregnated with dialkylcarbamoyl chloride.

OBJECTIVE

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are at significant risk of becoming infected, with an associated elevated risk of amputation. Choosing an appropriate treatment would help prevent infection, improve healing and patients' quality of life, as well as reduce healthcare costs. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a dialkylcarbamoyl chloride (DACC)-coated wound dressing to reduce bacterial load in the treatment of infected diabetic foot ulcers with signs of biofilm.

METHOD: In this prospective, descriptive observational study, patients with infected DFUs were treated with a DACC-coated wound dressing, and were followed until complete healing was achieved. Levels of bacterial load and the presence of biofilm were also assessed.

RESULTS

The patients consisted of 42 males and 19 females, with a mean age of 54.4 years. All wounds exhibited complete wound closure upon treatment with the DACC-coated wound dressing, with an average time to heal of 71.8 days. A total of 53 patients had received systemic antibiotic treatment prior to study enrolment, and the number of patients requiring antibiotic treatment reduced to 20 during the study. The level of bacterial load (including biofilm) was reduced, leading to wound progression in a proportion of wounds.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study revealed that treatment with a non-medicated antimicrobial wound dressing was an appropriate dressing choice to reduce microbial load and aid promotion of healing in infected DFUs with the presence of biofilm.