Woman with diabetic foot ulcer and osteomyelitis successfully treated with ayurvedic treatment: case report

Diabetic foot ulcers may lead to gangrene, infection, amputation, and patient death. Hence it is the need of the hour to look for limb salvage treatment modalities.

Swapna Bopparathi and Narasimha Raju K.V from the National Institute of Ayurveda, deemed to be University, Amer Road, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, successfully treated a case of diabetic foot ulcer with osteomyelitis in our hospital, an academic Institution by using said treatment modalities and this case report has followed the SCARE criteria. The case report was described in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

She was successfully treated with the holistic approach of surgical debridement, irrigation of the wound with Triphala decoction, medicinal leech therapy (MLT), jatyadi tail dressings, oral ayurvedic antidiabetic drugs to control blood sugar levels and a mixture of herbal mineral drug with the antimicrobial property.

"The holistic approach of these ayurvedic treatment modalities are safe and effective for treating diabetic foot ulcer with osteomyelitis and in amputation prevention, the researchers wrote in their study. "Our case showed the successful healing of the ulcer and bone in less than three months."

The female patient with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes presented with swelling and gangrenous deep, circular ulcer of approx. 3 × 4 cm size on the plantar aspect of the great toe of her left foot with involvement of first webspace from last three months. A plain X-ray revealed a disrupted and necrotic proximal phalanx indicating a diabetic foot ulcer with osteomyelitis. For the past three months, she had been using antidiabetic drugs and antibiotics but failed to get a significant response and was suggested for toe amputation. Hence, she approached the hospital for further treatment.

In DFU with osteomyelitis, surgery is frequently required to remove the necrosed and infected bone and soft tissues. The authors noted that with a holistic approach to these ayurvedic multimodal treatments, complete healing of the bone and ulcer could be achieved in some cases.

The patient's ulcer and bone healed in less than three months. Patient satisfaction and tolerance were high without systemic or local adverse reactions, and the patient accepted the drugs well.

"We highly recommend these complete therapeutic procedures to cut costs and improve wound healing because treating DFU is an expensive and time-consuming process," the researchers conclude.

Reference:

Bopparathi, S., & K.V, N. R. (2023). Diabetic foot ulcer with osteomyelitis, successfully treated with the holistic approach of multiple ayurvedic treatment modalities - A case report. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 107, 108315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2023.108315