Healing with integrative management of Diabetic foot ulcer - A case report
Case report published in J Ayurveda Integr Med (2025)
Abstract
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) occur in 15-25 % of diabetic patients at some point in their lifetime. The wide surgical debridement of the septic area is the cornerstone of diabetic foot ulcer treatment. There is a need to explore alternate therapies for DFU to reduce the risk of severe amputation. A 50-year-old male visited the Ayurveda OPD with a chronic ulcer on the plantar aspect of his right forefoot, which had persisted for two months. Ayurveda has considered Dushta vrana (∼septic nonhealing ulcer) and mentioned the Vrana upkrama (∼wound care measures) for its management. Among these Vrana upkrama, Jalauka avcharana (∼bloodletting using leech), Vrana Shodhana (∼wound cleansing measures) by Parisheka (∼therapeutic streaming of medicated decoction), Vrana ropana (∼wound-healing measures) are the three main wound care approaches along with Shamana (∼palliative therapy) for three months adopted in the present case for managing diabetic foot ulcers. DMIST tool was used to assess wound care at baseline and during follow-up. After three months of treatment, the integrated approach effectively shortens the healing time of DFUs, reduces the amputation rate and improves the standard of living of patients with DFUs with multiple Ayurvedic treatments.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
50-year-old male with chronic plantar diabetic foot ulcer managed with Jalauka avcharana (leech therapy) plus Ayurvedic wound care for 3 months with full healing.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este caso clínico describe el manejo integrativo ayurvédico de una úlcera diabética crónica del pie en un varón de 50 años, que incorpora Jalauka avcharana (sangría mediante sanguijuelas) junto con limpieza de la herida, medidas de cicatrización y terapia paliativa durante tres meses. Es relevante para la ASH porque ilustra la aplicación de sanguijuelas como un componente de un régimen tradicional de cuidado multimodal de heridas orientado a reducir el riesgo de amputación. El resumen informa que, tras tres meses, el abordaje integrado acortó eficazmente el tiempo de cicatrización, redujo la tasa de amputación y mejoró la calidad de vida del paciente, evaluada mediante la herramienta DMIST. La principal limitación es que se trata de un caso clínico único de una intervención combinada; no aísla la contribución específica de la hirudoterapia ni aporta evidencia clínica controlada.
Citación
Healing with integrative management of Diabetic foot ulcer - A case report.
Katkar R et al. · Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 2025
Contexto clínico relacionado
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: 18 de junio de 2026