Efficacy of 5% Tea Tree Oil Hydrogel on Healing Morbus Hansen's Chronic Plantar Ulcer

Background: The damage of the peripheral nerves that occurs in Morbus Hansen (MH) patients can cause disability due to loss of sensory, motor and autonomic functions can cause wounds, infections, ulcers and disability. Ulcers are the most common cause of disability complications in MH patients and requires a certain time of healing. As many as 10-20% of MH patients experience ulcers on the soles. Tea Tree Oil (TTO) is extracted from steam distillation of the leaves and twigs of the Australian native shrub Melaleuca Alternifolia. In ulcers, TTO can work as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. TTO preparation in the form of hydrogel is believed to help the wound healing process. Purpose: To investigate the effect of TTO hydrogel 5% on the healing of Chronic Plantar Ulcer of Leprosy (CPUL). Methods: Tea tree oil hydrogel 5% was applied every 3 days for up to 8 weeks in 22 subjects with chronic MH plantar ulcers. Ulcer size, side effects, and possible side effects are evaluated weekly. Result: There were significant clinical and statistical differences in ulcer size (p = 0.000) and in ulcer depth (p = 0.000) after TTO hydrogel 5%. No side effects occurred in this study. The ulcer healed was 59%, the ulcer improved by 36.4%, the persistent ulcer was 4.6%, and there was no ulcer that got worse. Conclusion: TTO hydrogel 5% is effective in the healing process of chronic MH plantar pedis ulcers.

Microvascular Dysfunction in Peripheral Artery Disease: Is Heat Therapy a Viable Treatment?

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is characterized by the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the lower-body conduit arteries. PAD is commonly accompanied by microvascular disease, which may result in poor wound healing, plantar ulcer development, and subsequent limb amputation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of plantar ulcers is a critical step in the development of adequate treatment options for patients with PAD. Skin is classified into two major components: glabrous and non-glabrous. These skin types have unique microcirculation characteristics, making it important to differentiate between the two when investigating mechanisms for plantar ulcer development in PAD. There is evidence for a microcirculation compensatory mechanism in PAD. This is evident by the maintenance of basal microcirculation perfusion and capillary filling pressure despite a reduced pressure differential beyond an occlusion in non-critical limb ischemia PAD. The major mechanism for this compensatory system seems to be progressive vasodilation of the arterial network below an occlusion. Recently, heat therapies have emerged as novel treatment options for attenuating the progression of PAD. Heat therapies are capable of stimulating the cardiovascular system, which may lead to beneficial adaptations that may ultimately reduce fatigue during walking in PAD. Early work in this area has shown that full-body heating is capable of generating an acute cardiovascular response, similar to exercise, which has been suggested as the most efficient treatment modality and may generate adaptations with chronic exposure. Heat therapies may emerge as a conservative treatment option capable of attenuating the progression of PAD and ultimately impeding the development of plantar ulcers.

Relationship between Plantar Pressure and Sensory Disturbance in Patients with Hansen’s Disease—Preliminary Research and Review of the Literature

Orthoses and insoles are among the primary treatments and prevention methods of refractory plantar ulcers in patients with Hansen’s disease. While dynamic plantar pressure and tactile sensory disturbance are the critical pathological factors, few studies have investigated whether a relationship exists between these two factors. In this study, dynamic pressure measured using F-scan system and tactile sensory threshold evaluated with monofilament testing were determined for 12 areas of 20 feet in patients with chronic Hansen’s disease. The correlation between these two factors was calculated for each foot, for each clinical category of the foot (0–IV) and across all feet. A significant correlation was found between dynamic pressure and tactile sensation in Category II feet (n = 8, p = 0.016, r2 = 0.246, Spearman’s rank test). In contrast, no significant correlation was detected for the entire foot or within the subgroups for the remainder of the clinical categories. However, the clinical manifestation of lesion areas showed high variability: (1) pressure concentrated, sensation lost; (2) margin of pressure concentration, sensation lost; (3) pressure concentrated, sensation severely disturbed but not lost; and (4) tip of the toe. These results may indicate that, even though there was a weak relationship between dynamic pressure and tactile sensation, it is important to assess both, in addition to the basics of orthotic treatment in patients with Hansen’s disease presenting with refractory plantar ulceration.

Topical Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) 1% for Chronic Plantar Ulcers in Leprosy

Background: Chronic plantar ulcers in leprosy (CPUL) increase morbidity, increase medical costs, cause loss of productivity, and decrease quality of life. CPUL is a severe complication of leprosy disease with a 10-20% incidence. In general, CPUL consume a significant amount of time to heal. Green tea extract contains high amount of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG functions as antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, and immunomodulator. This suggests that EGCG is effective for dermal wound treatment by facilitating reepithelialization. Purpose: To investigate the effect of topical EGCG 1% on the CPUL healing process. Methods: The topical EGCG 1% were applied every three days for eight weeks. Size of the ulcers, side effects and possible complications were monitored weekly. Result: There were significant clinical and statistical differences in the size and depth of the ulcers (p=0.000), as observed in the EGCG group. There was no side effect and complication found. Conclusions: Topical EGCG 1% was effective for CPUL healing. Sixty three point six percent of the ulcers were clinically healed, 31.8% demonstrated improvement, and 4.6% no effect was observed.

A study on non-healing plantar diabetic foot ulcers to assess the effect of compliance of using customised footwear in wound healing

Background: Foot infection is one of the commonest reasons for hospital admission of individuals with diabetes in India. Prescription footwear is an intricate aspect of a treatment program, not a therapy unto itself. Custom-made footwear can only be effective in preventing diabetic foot ulcers if worn by the patient as advised. This study was done in patients who are already prescribed customised footwear and evaluated the need for compliance based on the healing of these plantar foot ulcers.Methods: 85 diabetic patients with severe neuropathy and a non-healing callus ulcer or trophic ulcer (diameter 1-3 cm) for more than 3 months were included in the study. All these patients were followed up on weekly basis for 3 months and questioned about the use of customized footwear on regular basis. At the end of three months, the healing of these foot ulcers was compared based on whether they had been compliant with the customized footwear advice.Results: Of the 85 patients, 25 (29.4%) had shown improvement in wound healing with regular use of footwear. 60 (70.5%) patients who were not using the customized footwear had not shown any improvement in the plantar ulcers. The reasons for not using the recommended footwear were many commonest being wearing footwear only when going out and not inside the home.Conclusions: Non-compliance with customised footwear is emerging as an important cause of delay in wound healing of plantar foot ulcers.

Deep Learning Classification for Diabetic Foot Thermograms

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. It is also associated with a high mortality index. Diabetic foot is one of its main complications, and it comprises the development of plantar ulcers that could result in an amputation. Several works report that thermography is useful to detect changes in the plantar temperature, which could give rise to a higher risk of ulceration. However, the plantar temperature distribution does not follow a particular pattern in diabetic patients, thereby making it difficult to measure the changes. Thus, there is an interest in improving the success of the analysis and classification methods that help to detect abnormal changes in the plantar temperature. All this leads to the use of computer-aided systems, such as those involved in artificial intelligence (AI), which operate with highly complex data structures. This paper compares machine learning-based techniques with Deep Learning (DL) structures. We tested common structures in the mode of transfer learning, including AlexNet and GoogleNet. Moreover, we designed a new DL-structure, which is trained from scratch and is able to reach higher values in terms of accuracy and other quality measures. The main goal of this work is to analyze the use of AI and DL for the classification of diabetic foot thermograms, highlighting their advantages and limitations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first proposal of DL networks applied to the classification of diabetic foot thermograms. The experiments are conducted over thermograms of DM and control groups. After that, a multi-level classification is performed based on a previously reported thermal change index. The high accuracy obtained shows the usefulness of AI and DL as auxiliary tools to aid during the medical diagnosis.