Effect of Local Warming Techniques on Wounds Temperature, Pain and Healing of Non-Ischemic Diabetic Wounds

Background: Diabetic wounds are one of the most severe complications of diabetes, and more than half of those wounds become infected, and increase the potential for these wounds to get worse and compromise the safety of the limbs and even threatening patients' life.Objective: To assess the Effect of local warming techniques on wounds temperature, pain and healing of nonischemic diabetic wounds.Settings: The vascular surgery and diabetic foot departments-Main University Hospital, Alexandria University.Subjects: a convenience sample of ( 80) adult patients with type 2 diabetes with non-ischemic diabetic wounds.Tools: Tool I was Patient's sociodemographic data and clinical data.Tool II was Healing Scale, it consists of 9 items: wound dimensions, depth/tissue concerned, edges, maceration, perilesional tunneling, type of tissue in the wound bed, exudate, infection/inflammation, frequency of pain (in last 10 days).Tool III was Pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).Tool IV was infrared dermal thermometer.Results: We revealed that the best wound temperature record before and after the procedure was in the group which apply both warming technique, with mean temperature (32.02  ± 0.26) before and (38.04  ± 0.24) after, while the control group which have no warming technique recorded the lowest wound temperature before and after the procedure with mean temperature (28.68  ± 0.47) before and (24.61 ± 0.34) after, and these differences was statistically significant (p <0.001).Conclusion: Warming techniques is cost effective method that help to reduce; wound parameter, pain, signs of infection, improve healing and reduce the upset accompanied with wound irrigated by cold solution.Recommendations: Disinfectant solution should be warmed to (38 -42) during dressing times.Reduce wound exposure times during dressing changes to decrease wounds temperature loss.