Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Followed by Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Spray as a Recovery Technique in Partial Necrosis of Distally Based Sural Flap for Calcaneal Osteomyelitis: A Case Report

Clinical characteristics, treatment and efficacy of calcaneal osteomyelitis: a systematic review with synthesis analysis of 1118 reported cases

BACKGROUND

Calcaneal osteomyelitis (CO) still poses great challenges to orthopedic surgeons due to the unique anatomic and functional features of the calcaneus. This study summarized the current data regarding clinical characteristics, treatment and efficacy of CO, based on an analysis of literature-reported cases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The authors searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to find English and Chinese studies reporting on CO patients published between 2000 and 2021, with available data for synthesis analysis. The quality of the included studies was evaluated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) assessment scale. Effective data were extracted and pooled for analysis.

RESULTS

Altogether 198 studies involving 1118 patients were included, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.3 (724 males and 310 females). The median age at CO diagnosis was 46 years, with a median symptom duration of 3 months. Injury-related infections (524 cases) and diabetic foot infections (336 cases) were the two most common causes, with ulcers (468 cases) and wound sinus or exudation (209 cases) being the predominant symptoms. The overall positive culture rate was 80.2%, with polymicrobial infections accounting for 18.1%. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently detected pathogen (42.7%), with fungal-related infections isolated in 17 cases. Although most patients received surgical interventions (96.9%), the recurrence rate was 20.1%. The incidence of infection relapse following partial calcanectomy, total calcanectomy, debridement with implantation of local antibiotics, and debridement with or without flap or skin coverage were 31.7%, 45.0%, 16.8%, and 15.1%, respectively. The overall incidence of limb amputation was 12.4%, with all-cause and CO-related mortalities of 2.8% and 0.2%, separately.

CONCLUSIONS

CO shared similar characteristics with extremity chronic osteomyelitis, primarily affecting young males, with trauma and diabetic foot as the leading causes and Staphylococcus aureus as the most frequently detected pathogen. Despite surgery being the primary treatment modality, clinical outcomes remained unsatisfactory, marked by high rates of infection recurrence and limb amputation.

Research progress on and molecular mechanism of vacuum sealing drainage in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are common chronic wounds and a common complication of diabetes. The foot is the main site of diabetic ulcers, which involve small and medium-sized arteries, peripheral nerves, and microcirculation, among others. DFUs are prone to coinfections and affect many diabetic patients. In recent years, interdisciplinary research combining medicine and material science has been increasing and has achieved significant clinical therapeutic effects, and the application of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in the treatment of DFUs is a typical representative of this progress, but the mechanism of action remains unclear. In this review, we integrated bioinformatics and literature and found that ferroptosis is an important signaling pathway through which VSD promotes the healing of DFUs and that System Xc-GSH-GPX4 and NAD(P)H-CoQ10-FSP1 are important axes in this signaling pathway, and we speculate that VSD is most likely to inhibit ferroptosis to promote DFU healing through the above axes. In addition, we found that some classical pathways, such as the TNF, NF-κB, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, are also involved in the VSD-mediated promotion of DFU healing. We also compiled and reviewed the progress from clinical studies on VSD, and this information provides a reference for the study of VSD in the treatment of DFUs.

Consensus on the application of negative pressure wound therapy of diabetic foot wounds

Because China is becoming an aging society, the incidence of diabetes and diabetic foot have been increasing. Diabetic foot has become one of the main health-related killers due to its high disability and mortality rates. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is one of the most effective techniques for the treatment of diabetic foot wounds and great progress, both in terms of research and its clinical application, has been made in the last 20 years of its development. However, due to the complex pathogenesis and management of diabetic foot, irregular application of NPWT often leads to complications, such as infection, bleeding and necrosis, that seriously affect its treatment outcomes. In 2020, under the leadership of Burns, Trauma and Tissue Repair Committee of the Cross-Straits Medicine Exchange Association, the writing group for ‘Consensus on the application of negative pressure wound therapy of diabetic foot wounds’ was established with the participation of scholars from the specialized areas of burns, endocrinology, vascular surgery, orthopedics and wound repair. Drawing on evidence-based practice suggested by the latest clinical research, this consensus proposes the best clinical practice guidelines for the application and prognostic evaluation of NPWT for diabetic foot. The consensus aims to support the formation of standardized treatment schemes that clinicians can refer to when treating cases of diabetic foot.