Effectiveness of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using Periplaneta Americana (Kangfuxin Liquid) Irrigation

This study was to evaluate the efficacy of Periplaneta Americana (Kangfuxin Liquid) relative to normal saline when applied in negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with instillation for facilitating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) healing. Eighty patients with Wagner grades 3 or 4 DFUs were enrolled in this retrospective study. Based on the treatment type, patients were equally assigned to either (i) an NPWT with Kangfuxin liquid instillation group (NPWT-K) or (ii) an NPWT with normal saline instillation group (NPWT-I). The primary study outcome was the wound healing rate and Kaplan-Meier survival estimate was used to examine the cumulative wound healing rate, while the secondary outcomes were the amputation rate, inpatient days, duration of antibiotic treatments, reinfection rate, new ulcer formation rate, readmission rate, and changes in the inflammatory markers (such as ESR, CRP, and PCT) and serum growth factors (including VEGF, EGF, and bFGF). The 12-week wound healing rate (31 of 40[77.5%] vs 22 of 40[55.0%], P = .033) and the cumulative wound healing rate was higher in the NPWT-K group than in the NPWT-I group (P = .004). The wound healing time was shorter in the NPWT-K group (55 days [95% CI 50-60]) than in the NPWT-K group (64 days [95% CI 59-69], P = .016). Patients who received NPWT-K had fewer inpatient days and duration of antibiotic treatment and faced lower reinfection and readmission rates (P < .05). After 1 week of treatment, the ESR, CRP, and PCT levels in the blood were lower in the NPWT-K group than in the NPWT-I group (P < .05), while the VEGF, EGF, and bFGF levels in the NPWT-K group were higher than those in the NPWT-I group (P < .001). The present study showed that NPWT with Kangfuxin liquid instillation was effective and showed significantly accelerated DFUs healing. Thus, Kangfuxin liquid is an effective instillation solution for use in the treatment of DFUs with NPWT.