This article is the first part of a literature review concerning
diabetic foot ulcers and the use of antimicrobial
photodynamic therapy (
PDT).
Diabetic foot ulcers are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Natural healing is often delayed by microbial
infection or colonisation, which might lead to serious complications, such as
amputation. Furthermore,
antibiotic treatment could have limited success because of the development of bacterial resistance and severely limited
drug delivery to the
ulcer due to vascular damage.
PDT has antimicrobial effects and has been used to reduce the total and pathogenic microbial load in diabetic
ulcers without inducing bacterial resistance. It is safe and can be used to improve outcomes. A clinical trial demonstrated that
PDT with
RLP068 reduced the microbial load of diabetic
ulcers in 62 patients. This article reports previously published evidence and presents four, unpublished, clinical cases treated in the real-life setting.