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Introduction Diabetic foot complications leading to limb amputations pose a global health concern. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel has emerged as a promising method for ulcer healing, leveraging the growth factors provided by autologous PRP to enhance tissue healing. Therefore, we aimed to assess the frequency of the success of PRP therapy in the treatment of non-healing diabetic foot ulcers. Methods This quasi-experimental study, conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from April 2021 to October 2022, enrolled 80 eligible individuals with non-responsive diabetic foot ulcers using a consecutive sampling technique. Inclusion criteria involved patients of both genders, aged 45-75 years, with unhealed diabetic foot ulcers, and exclusion criteria considered factors such as recurrent ulcers at the same site, smoking, and immunosuppressive or anticoagulant drug therapy. Baseline demographic details, ulcer measurements using a scale, and AutoCAD (Autodesk, Inc., San Francisco, California, United States)-assisted quantification of ulcer base were recorded. Autologous PRP injections were administered following strict aseptic protocols, with dressing changes and assessments performed at specified intervals over four weeks. Treatment success, defined as >90% healing after four weeks, was the primary outcome. Data analysis utilized IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0 (Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), employing post-stratification chi-square and t-tests where appropriate for significant differences. Results The mean age of the patients was 60.40 ± 9.72 years, the mean duration of diabetes was 9.48 ± 2.21 years, and the mean ulcer duration was 11.41 ± 1.63 months. The treatment success rate was 63.7%. Age, gender, and disease duration showed no significant impact on treatment success. However, patients with a normal BMI and shorter ulcer duration exhibited a significantly higher success rate (p <0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). Conclusions This study reaffirms the efficacy of PRP in treating non-healing diabetic foot ulcers, aligning with previous research. Despite a slightly lower success rate compared to literature reports, PRP remains a promising agent for managing diabetic foot ulcers.
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BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis (AA), a common reason for episodes of acute abdomen, is a surgical emergency. Its immediate diagnosis and management are of immense significance, as its diagnosis can become challenging at times, especially in resource-limited setups. The goal of this study was to ascertain the threshold value for the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in diagnosing AA and to calculate the validity parameters for the NLR. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 108 patients who were admitted to the surgical wards of Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad with suspicion of AA and subsequently underwent open appendectomy. Data was collected regarding the demography of the patients, physical examination findings, clinical presentations, and investigations including the histopathology and complete blood count, from which the NLR value was computed, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was utilized for the computation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was done to calculate the cut-off value of the NLR for diagnosing AA, and validity parameters were computed, taking into account statistical significance with a p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: Based on the ROC analysis, a threshold value for NLR indicating a positive appendectomy was determined to be 2.49 (sensitivity = 71.4% and 1-specificity = 12.5%) with an area under the curve of 90.6% (95% confidence interval {CI} 0.818-0.994, p<0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of NLR for diagnosing AA were 71.43%, 87.5%, and 72.73%, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is a strong correlation between NLR at a cut-off value of 2.49 and the diagnosis of AA. We suggest that NLR should be utilized as a complementary biomarker to clinical examination, aiding in the diagnosis of AA.
