Effect of Topical Insulin on Diabetic Wound Healing among Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Diabetic foot ulcer is a debilitative disease with severe consequences in diabetic patients. Wound
healing is a complex biological process that restores skin integrity. Conventional dressings were
found ineffective for these ulcers. Insulin accelerates wound healing in diabetes by enhancing
growth of different cell types and affects proliferation by keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and
fibroblasts. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of topical insulin on diabetic wound healing
among patients with diabetic foot ulcer. Research design: A quasi experimental research design
was utilized. Settings: The study was conducted at inpatient vascular surgery department at
Alexandria Main University Hospital. Tools of data collection: One tool was used for data
collection. It consisted of two parts. Part I: Socio demographic and clinical data and Part II: Bates
Jensen wound assessment tool. Results: The result of the study revealed that there was statistical
significant improvement in all items of foot ulcer assessment in the study group over control after
two and three weeks of daily topical insulin dressing. There was statistical significant improvement
in diabetic foot ulcer severity among the study and control groups after one week, after two and
three weeks daily topical insulin dressing. The findings of the present study also showed that
diabetic foot ulcer in the study group need less time than the control group for complete healing.
Conclusion: This study concluded that patients with diabetic foot ulcer who receive topical insulin
dressing exhibit enhanced healing rate than patients who do not receive such intervention.
Recommendations: Incorporate the technique of topical insulin dressing in clinical nursing
curricula, evaluate this method on other type of wound than diabetic foot ulcer and in service
training programs for nurses about topical insulin wound dressing.