Nutritional Supplementation Concurrent with Nutrition Education Accelerates the Wound Healing Process in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Abstract

Trials on nutritional supplements for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) have only evaluated the effects of supplementation with specific nutrients. Additionally, nutrition education has not been a systematic part of these studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrient-dense formula combined with nutrition education on wound healing in DFU patients. Twenty-nine patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (n = 15) receiving two servings of supplements daily plus nutrition education or control group (n = 14) that received the standard of care but no additional nutritional or educational intervention. Both groups were followed for a maximum of 12 weeks. Wound healing, as measured by planimetry, was examined at baseline and every four weeks until complete wound closure or up to 12 weeks. There were no significant differences between groups for BMI, age, duration of diabetes, wound age estimation, or wound area at baseline. The treatment group experienced a faster wound healing rate (6.43 mm2/week more reduction in the wound area) than the control group. The mean reduction in the wound area during the first four weeks of the study was almost 13-fold greater in the treatment group compared to the control group (18.0 mm2/week vs. 1.4 mm2/week, respectively). Our findings showed that nutrition supplementation plus nutrition education significantly accelerated wound healing in DFU patients compared to those who just received a standard-of-care regimen.

Games and Health Education for Diabetes Control: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

“…These facilitate access to people with diabetes and are an educational tool that can improve HbA1c levels [ 45 ]. Health education provides many benefits to patients [ 46 ]. Nonetheless, it is true that it requires a responsibility on the part of the patients [ 47 ] and that a standardization and simplification of the different applications is necessary, since there is a decrease in communication with health professionals [ 48 ].…”

Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes and Its Association with Added Sugar Intake in Citizens and Refugees Aged 40 or Older in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

“…Our study showed that glycaemic control was suboptimal for patients diagnosed with T2D, and the highest uncontrolled glycaemic rate was 50.0% (95% CI in Gaza City. The lowest was 32.3% (95% CI [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] in Khan Younis. It is reasonable that Gaza City is considered an urbanized City compared to the rest of the Gaza Strip regions, while Khan Younis is a Palestinian refugee camp [49].…”

“…It may have a negative impact on the quality of life and diabetes self-management [ 25 ]. Thus, the diabetic patient should have special management of his/her nutrition, including added sugar, which has a critical role in the wound-healing process [ 26 ].…”

Improving Dietary Intake of Essential Nutrients Can Ameliorate Inflammation in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers

“…Therefore, it is essential to examine if these nutrients can shift diabetic wounds from chronic/non-healing to normal wounds by improving inflammation status. It has been reported that DFU patients have a significantly low intake of the aforementioned nutrients [29,30]. However, evidence of the benefit to wound healing in DFUs through management of inflammation is lacking for a combination of these essential nutrients.…”