A comparative study on topical recombinant human epidermal growth factor vs conventional betadine dressing in management of diabetic wounds

Background : Major complications of diabetes mellitus include cardio vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetic foot ulcers and non-healing wounds. Lack of knowledge and awareness has led to worsening of wounds which can involve deeper tissues and bones also. If treated on time majority of patients can be prevented from undergoing major debilitating surgical procedures such as amputation of toes, foot etc. Methods: In this proposed study, 60 cases of diabetic wounds were studied for healing who were randomly allocated into two groups of 30 patients each. Group A included topical recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) application and group B included conventional Betadine dressing for wound healing. Results : Anaemia had a significant role in delaying wound healing in group B patients. Blood sugars had no significant role in delaying wound healing in this study as patients in group A had mean FBS more than group B and still the wound healing was observed better in group A patients. Topical recombinant EGF resulted in faster wound healing than conventional dressings in diabetic wounds. 90% wound healing rates were seen with topical EGF dressings in comparison to 36.67% in conventional betadine dressings. Signs of wound healing i.e., early granulation, decreased discharge, early wound closure were seen faster in group A. Moreover, all patients in group A showed healthy granulation tissue by the end of our study. Conclusions : We concluded that topical recombinant EGF resulted in faster and better wound healing than conventional betadine dressing.