Phenytoin versus Normal Saline Dressings in the Healing of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Longitudinal Study

Introduction: Chronic wounds, especially the non healing type, are among the foremost common conditions encountered by a surgeon. Currently, steady research is being pursued on the creation of fancy and indulgent topical growth factors for wound healing. One such agent is phenytoin which has a stimulatory effect on connective tissue. Several studies were conducted worldwide to study the effect of phenytoin on chronic ulcers. However, such studies are lacking in our geographical area. Aim: To compare the efficacy of topical phenytoin dressings with conventional saline dressings in the healing of chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs), in terms of the surface area of ulcer, granulation tissue formation as a percentage of the surface area of ulcer, duration of hospital stay, and side effects. Materials and Methods: This was a longitudinal study that included 100 patients with chronic DFUs admitted to a tertiary care hospital, in North Andhra Pradesh for a period of 1 year. The study population was divided into two groups based on the patient’s willingness for undergoing topical phenytoin therapy. Patients willing to undergo the topical phenytoin dressing therapy formed the study group (n=50) and those who were not willing were subjected to traditional saline dressings, which formed the control group (n=50). The variables of the surface area of the ulcer, granulation tissue formation as a percentage of the surface area of the ulcer, duration of hospital stay, and side effects of topical phenytoin dressings were compared using Paired, and Unpaired Student’s t-test, and the p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age in the study group was 53.94 years and in the control group was 55.92 years. The male:female ratio in the study group was 5:1 and in the control group was 3:1. The mean ulcer surface area in the control group was 37.6 cm2 and in the study group was 40.4 cm2 (p-value=0.012). The mean area of granulation tissue formation in the control group was 36.07 cm2±5.7, and in the study group was 39.63 cm2±2.6 of the total ulcer surface area (p-value=0.001). The granulation tissue formation in the control group was 95.93% of the total ulcer surface area, and in the study group was 98.09% of the total ulcer surface area (p-value=0.001). The mean hospital stay in the control group was 31.3±4.2 days and in the study group was 27.8±2.4 days (p-value=0.001). Conclusion: Phenytoin is better alternative dressing agent with lesser side effects for diabetic foot ulcer care.