Effective treatment strategies for diabetic foot wounds.

Nonhealing foot ulcers in patients with diabetes are the leading cause of complications such as infection and amputation. This is a review of the traditional methods of good wound care for the diabetic foot ulcer. We also introduce newer methods for the treatment of these ulcers including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, bioengineered tissue, and recombinant platelet-derived growth factor-BB. By using a multidisciplinary team approach to care and integrating traditional and new wound-healing technologies, the goal of the US Department of Health and Human Services to lower the diabetic amputation rate by 40% may be achieved.