Treatment of diabetic foot ulcers using a blood bank platelet concentrate.

BACKGROUND: Many clinical trials have shown the effectiveness of platelet releasate on chronic wound healing, but large volumes of blood must be aspirated from patients and a platelet separator is required. Moreover, in the case of using homologous platelets, time and effort are needed to locate a suitable donor, and the donor's blood sample must be tested for a history of infectious disease. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of a straightforward method using a blood bank platelet concentrate in treating diabetic foot ulcers.
METHODS: Fifty-two patients with diabetic foot ulcers were treated using a blood bank platelet concentrate. A control treatment (i.e., treatment with topical fibrinogen and thrombin) was performed on 48 patients. Twelve weeks after treatment, the percentage of complete healing, mean healing time, percentage of wound shrinkage, and patient satisfaction were compared.
RESULTS: Complete wound healing was achieved in 79 percent of the blood bank platelet concentrate-treated group and 46 percent of the control group (p < 0.05). The times required for complete healing were 7.0 +/- 1.9 and 9.2 +/- 2.2 weeks in the blood bank platelet concentrate-treated and control groups, respectively (p < 0.05). The degrees of wound shrinkage were 96.3 +/- 7.8 and 81.6 +/- 19.7 percent for the treated and control groups, respectively (p < 0.05). Patient satisfaction with the blood bank platelet concentrate treatment yielded better results than the control method (mean score, 7.6 +/- 1.6 and 5.3 +/- 1.4, respectively; p < 0.05). No adverse events related to the study treatment occurred.
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of diabetic foot ulcers using a blood bank platelet concentrate showed results superior to control treatment. A blood bank platelet concentrate offers a simple and effective treatment for diabetic foot ulcers.