Methylene Blue: a Potential Novel Treatment in Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that can lead to serious consequences that impair one's quality of life, if not adequately controlled. One of the undesirable complications is diabetic foot ulcer. It is estimated globally that every 30 seconds a leg is amputated due to diabetic foot, and thus can lower the quality of life. Recent studies have used a low-cost dye known as methylene blue as an anti-microorganism agent, and this sparks the idea of exploring more of its possible benefits. This literature review aimed to outline the beneficial roles of methylene blue in diabetic foot ulcer treatment. According to the findings, it is said that methylene blue may play a role as an anti-microorganism agent through its contribution in wound healing and invasive surgical prevention such as limb amputation. All the pooled articles showed a promising outcome of MB from the reduction of wound size in a shorter healing period with none adverse effects reported. Hence, methylene blue may have a promising role to be an effective agent in treating diabetic foot ulcer.