Compare the effect of wound healing and cost of dressing solution between citric acid and conventional method of dressing among the patients with diabetic foot ulcer in tertiary hospital

Background: Diabetic foot ulcers are sores or wounds on the foot and are often a strong indicator of advanced diabetes. Local application of citric acid is most effective in the treatment of various wounds, including wounds for which there are no alternative options available. Objective: The study objective to compare the effect of wound healing and cost of dressing solution between citric acid and conventional method of dressing among the patients with diabetic foot ulcer in a tertiary hospital in India. Methods: Totally, 120 Patients with diabetic foot ulcer were recruited for the study. The researcher had chosen the first sixty patients for conventional method of dressing after that next sixty patients allotted for 3% citric acid dressing. The pre assessment was carried out before applied dressing the wound status was assessed on 1st day and post assessment was done on 8th day, 15th day and 22nd day for both groups. The clinical data were gathered by using the interview method in regional language and some clinical data collected from patients’ case sheet. For assessing the wound, the Modified Bates Jensen’s Wound Assessment tool was used. Results: The wound healing status was much better among the patients who received citric acid dressing than patients who received conventional dressing that was 53 patients in the citric acid dressing and 26 patients in the conventional dressing group had mild level wound - almost double the time. The significant ‘p’ value inferred that the difference in improvement in wound healing status among the patients in the citric acid dressing and conventional dressing groups after the intervention was statistically significant (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The health care providers used citric acid solution for dressing it will reduce the cost of dressing and reduce economic burden to the patient.