Evaluation of the efficacy of antibiotic bone cement in the treatment of osteomyelitis complicated by diabetic foot ulcers

Abstract This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) in treating diabetic foot ulcers complicated with osteomyelitis. A total of 75 patients diagnosed with diabetic foot ulcers and osteomyelitis who received treatment between January 2023 and July 2024 were enrolled in this randomized controlled study. The patients were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group primarily underwent ALBC repair, while the control group received conventional debridement therapy. This study verified the therapeutic effect of bone cement through a prospective, multi-center research design with standardized endpoints, including wound healing area, wound healing rate, transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure (TcPO₂), number of recurrence cases, frequency of wound dressing changes, mean hospitalization duration, and mean hospitalization cost. Inflammatory markers before and after treatment were also compared between the two groups, including white blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP), absolute neutrophil count, procalcitonin (PCT), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), as well as inflammatory indices such as systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR). The results showed that the experimental group had better wound healing, shorter hospitalization duration, lower costs, and a lower infection recurrence rate. There were no statistically significant differences in PCT, PLR, and LMR before and after treatment, while all other indicators showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that ALBC can effectively treat diabetic foot with osteomyelitis, promote wound .