Healing refractory diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) by ozone therapy and silver dressing: A case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Refractory diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are still a major health problem and can lead to death. CASE PRESENTATION: The present case reports a 45-year-old man with an 8-year history of type 2 diabetes who has had left refractory DFU for a year on the left heel with a size of 6 × 3 × 1 cm. The patient's ulcers were infected with Staphylococcus aureus. Despite the routine DFU care (normal saline dressing twice a day and intravenous antibiotic therapy), the patient did not recover from DFU using standard methods. The patient was referred to our wound management team. In the first step, the necrotic tissues of his foot ulcer were irrigated and debrided using mechanical debridement and saline. Next, the patient underwent a 70 μg/dL dose of ozone therapy over a 30-day period in 10 sessions (one 20-minute session every 3 days). Between each session, the patient's wound was wrapped in silver-containing gauze bandages. After two months, the patient's DFUs healed, and he was discharged from our service in good condition. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: DFU can lead to infection, amputation, and even patient death. Therefore, effective treatment methods are very important for managing DFUs. CONCLUSION: This case report study was shown that the ozone therapy is an effective approach to improve the healing of refractory DFUs and prevent foot amputation. Therefore, wound-care teams can utilize it as an adjunct to the standard methods of DFU treatment.