In this retrospective cohort of diabetic patients receiving HBOT as largely a last resort in Guadeloupe, the six-month healing rate was 34% and major amputation rate was 19%, with no candidate factor reaching statistical significance, though findings are 'consistent with a role for HBOT within coordinated multidisciplinary diabetic foot care.'
The six-month healing rate among evaluable diabetic patients receiving HBOT was 34%.
The major amputation rate during or after HBOT was 19%.
HBOT was used as a last resort after failure of prolonged conventional therapy in the majority of patients.
The proportion of current smokers (7.9%) was notably lower than in previously published HBOT cohorts.
Patients referred through the multidisciplinary Diabetic Foot Care Unit had fewer major amputations despite older age and greater vascular burden.
No candidate factor examined reached statistical significance in univariable analysis.
This research studied 71 diabetic patients in Guadeloupe (a French Caribbean island) who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) — a treatment where patients breathe pure oxygen under increased pressure — for serious lower-limb wounds between 2020 and 2023. The study found that only about one-third of patients (34%) had their wounds healed within six months, and nearly one in five (19%) required a major amputation during or after treatment. Notably, in nearly two-thirds of cases, HBOT was only tried after other treatments had already failed over a long period, which the researchers believe contributed to these relatively modest outcomes. The study also found that patients who were referred through a specialized multidisciplinary diabetic foot care team seemed to have fewer major amputations, even though they tended to be older and have more severe vascular disease. However, the researchers caution this difference may simply reflect which types of patients were sent to that team rather than a true benefit of the referral pathway. No specific patient characteristics — including blood sugar control, how they were referred, or how long they waited for HBOT — were statistically linked to better or worse outcomes, partly because the study group was relatively small. This research suggests that HBOT may play a supportive role when integrated into coordinated, team-based diabetic foot care, and that referring patients to HBOT earlier — rather than as a last resort — might improve results. Because this was a single-center observational study without a control group, it cannot prove that HBOT itself caused any of the outcomes observed, and the findings are meant to inform future research and care organization rather than provide definitive treatment guidance.
Chingan Martino V, Pusel M, Bouamama D, Gibert D, Cheret A. (2026). Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Diabetic Lower-Limb Wounds in the Caribbean: A Retrospective Cohort Study.. International wound journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.71040