School of Podiatric Medicine - Student Research

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 9-25-2026

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are becoming increasingly common with the rising prevalence of diabetes. These wounds are often difficult to heal due to the complex complications associated with the disease. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), traditionally utilized as an adjunctive therapy for musculoskeletal injuries, has more recently been applied topically to promote the healing of DFUs.

Aims: To analyze if PRP heals DFUs faster than the standard of care.

Methods: A scoping review of PubMed and Google Scholar (2016-2026) was conducted. Inclusion criteria were published in the English language, randomized controlled trials involving adults, utilizing autologous PRP.  Exclusion criteria included articles that were in a non-English language, predated 2016, non-autologous PRP, case reports, cohorts, and systematic reviews. Of 141 records identified (PubMed n=1; Google Scholar n=140), 6 duplicates were removed and 6 studies met inclusion criteria

Results: We report six studies comprising 368 patients with a mean age of 54.66 years. Wound age ranged from 4–24 weeks. BMI ranged from 25.17–30.7 (2 studies), baseline wound size from 2–12 cm2 (4 studies), and study duration from 3–20 weeks. Among 3 studies reporting complete healing time, mean time to heal was 8.09 weeks with PRP versus 28.74 weeks in controls. Diabetes duration ranged from 9.12–14.22 years (3 studies), HbA1c from 6.9–8.57% (4 studies), and ABI from 0.83–0.99 (2 studies).

Conclusion: A trend toward faster DFU healing was observed with PRP compared with control treatments. However, variability in study design, patient and wound characteristics, and outcome reporting limited comparisons across studies. While PRP shows promise for improving DFU healing, further high-quality studies are needed to establish its effectiveness.

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