A Comparative Study of Topical Sucralfate and Povidone Iodine Dressing in Diabetic Foot Ulcers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tirupati

BACKGROUND Diabetic patients have reduced ability to metabolize glucose resulting in elevated blood sugar levels which further burdens the wound healing process. This leads to non-healing chronic ulcers. The sufferers of chronic diabetic foot ulcers are increasing globally due to lack of preventive and control measures. Sucralfate has been demonstrated in molecular studies to enhance the granulation tissue proliferation and thus promoting ulcer healing in the skin. Various clinical studies have also showed the efficacy of sucralfate in complete healing of the wound and in reducing the size of the wound. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of topical sucralfate with that of povidone iodine dressing, in the healing of diabetic ulcers. METHODS This is a randomized comparative study. Among 100 patients, 50 patients received treatment in the form of povidone iodine dressings and 50 took treatment with sucralfate dressing. The patient underwent a detailed clinical examination. Relevant investigations were also done. The initial wound area was recorded after thorough debridement by measuring length x width. Both the groups underwent dressings once daily. The patients were followed up daily for a period of 3 weeks in both the groups. RESULTS In this study, the mean ± SD area of reduction of the ulcer was observed to be higher in sucralfate group 54.17 ± 10.08 than the povidone iodine group 16.07 ± 4.19. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups for the mean of area reduction (P < 0.0001, significant). CONCLUSIONS The ulcers in subjects treated with sucralfate dressing (S group) contracted more than the ulcers in the patients treated with povidone iodine (P group) (54.17 % Vs 16.07 %; P = < 0.0001, significant) which points out that sucralfate dressing is an effective modality in helping the reduction of wound area in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. KEYWORDS Diabetic, Sucralfate, Area of Reduction