How has hyperbaric oxygen been studied in diabetic foot wounds?
25 papers. Randomized human trials: 1. Controlled human studies, including unspecified allocation: 3. Human studies without a control group: 3. Reviews and literature analyses: 18.
Publication dates from 1 January 2025 to 29 October 2026. Titles and abstracts were searched for hyperbaric oxygen together with diabetic foot. Clinical studies and reviews addressing this intervention were included.
Checked 2026-10-29 · 40 records searched
Randomized human trials1
A randomized study of 94 patients with diabetic foot ulcers compared hyperbaric oxygen plus antibiotics and wound care (43) with antibiotics and wound care without hyperbaric oxygen (51), recording infection, granulation tissue and wound progression.
Int Marit Health · 2025 · PMID 41498373
Controlled human studies, including unspecified allocation3
A retrospective comparison of records from 235 inpatients with diabetic foot ulcers receiving standard care with or without added hyperbaric oxygen; wound severity, laboratory measures and 6 month wound progression were analyzed.
Cureus · 2025 · PMID 41552219
A retrospective comparison of 45 patients with diabetes requiring foot graft reconstruction: 28 received hyperbaric oxygen at 2.4 ATA for 120 minutes daily and 17 were controls; wound size and graft retention were followed.
Int Wound J · 2025 · PMID 40400128
A nonrandomized prospective study followed 20 patients with ischemic diabetic foot ulcers for 36 months; 14 received standard care plus hyperbaric oxygen and 6 standard care alone, with wound measures, blood markers and microvascular tissue assessments.
Cells · 2025 · PMID 40801628
Human studies without a control group3
A retrospective review of lower limb wound records from 71 patients with diabetes receiving 100% oxygen at 2.5 ATA in Guadeloupe; 6 month wound progression and referral pathways were recorded without an unexposed control group.
Int Wound J · 2026 · PMID 42740364
A case report of 1 man aged 66 with a chronic diabetic foot ulcer receiving 35 hyperbaric oxygen sessions at 2.4 ATA for 90 minutes, five times weekly, alongside antibiotics, dressings and wound care, with wound observation.
Biomedicine (Taipei) · 2026 · PMID 41799035
A case report of 1 patient with a diabetic foot ulcer documenting bacterial cultures, antibiotics, debridement, negative pressure wound care and hyperbaric oxygen, with 6 month follow up.
J Am Podiatr Med Assoc · 2025 · PMID 41166151
Reviews and literature analyses18
A critical narrative review of clinical studies, systematic reviews, guidelines and economic literature on systemic hyperbaric oxygen in diabetic foot care in sub-Saharan Africa. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Int Wound J · 2026 · PMID 42680547
A review of hyperbaric oxygen literature in infection related conditions including infected diabetic foot wounds, covering microbial, immune and tissue research. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Int J Med Sci · 2026 · PMID 42158816
A systematic review of 22 papers on negative pressure wound care and hyperbaric oxygen for diabetic foot ulcers, including randomized and nonrandomized studies and previous reviews, with design specific bias assessment. Total participant count is not reported in the abstract.
Medicina (Kaunas) · 2026 · PMID 41597395
A review of pathology, classification and management literature for diabetic heel ulcers, discussing approaches including hyperbaric oxygen and 15 years of experience at one center. Paper and patient counts are not reported in the abstract.
Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · 2026 · PMID 41835830
A review of clinical literature and application conditions for hyperbaric oxygen in chronic wounds including diabetic foot wounds. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Ther Umsch · 2025 · PMID 41569276
A structured narrative review using PubMed to identify hyperbaric oxygen studies in surgical and ischemic wounds including diabetic foot ulcers, covering publications from January 2000 to February 2026. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Cureus · 2026 · PMID 42037844
A review discussing transcutaneous oxygen measurements and other vascular assessment methods before and during hyperbaric oxygen use for diabetic foot ulcers. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Undersea Hyperb Med · 2025 · PMID 41429030
A targeted narrative review of 38 PubMed papers on hyperbaric oxygen across surgical fields including diabetic foot ulcers, covering January 2020 to November 2025. Total participant count is not reported in the abstract.
Cureus · 2026 · PMID 41732651
A narrative review of neural, vascular and immune literature and management approaches for diabetic foot ulcers, including hyperbaric oxygen among several accompanying interventions. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
Front Pharmacol · 2025 · PMID 41311850
A narrative review of 41 publications on 7 approaches to diabetic foot ulcers including hyperbaric oxygen; PubMed and Cochrane searches included 18 randomized trial reports. Total participant count is not reported in the abstract.
J Diabetes Res · 2026 · PMID 42773969
A literature review of hyperbaric oxygen trials and meta-analyses for diabetic foot ulcers, examining wound physiology, participant selection and study design. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
J Diabetes Complications · 2025 · PMID 39970800
A comprehensive review of diabetic foot ulcer and neuropathy management and prevention literature, covering several approaches including hyperbaric oxygen and negative pressure wound care. The abstract does not report the number of included papers or total participants.
World J Diabetes · 2025 · PMID 40093290
A network meta-analysis of 67 randomized trials involving 5,957 patients with diabetic foot ulcers, comparing nonpharmacological interventions including hyperbaric oxygen, light and ultrasound with standard care or other interventions. The participant total covers all interventions.
BMC Nurs · 2025 · PMID 41299407
A systematic review of 6 hyperbaric oxygen studies involving 391 patients with diabetic foot ulcers, using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science and assessing bias separately for randomized and observational studies.
Cureus · 2025 · PMID 40062051
A meta-analysis of 10 studies of interventions including hyperbaric oxygen, platelet rich plasma and negative pressure wound care for diabetic foot ulcers, using wound measures and amputation as comparison endpoints. Total participant count is not reported in the abstract.
Int J Burns Trauma · 2025 · PMID 40400718
A network meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials comparing gas interventions including hyperbaric oxygen for diabetic foot ulcers. The abstract reports 2,268 ulcers, which are not relabeled as a participant count.
PeerJ · 2025 · PMID 40538733
A network meta-analysis of 99 randomized trials involving 7,356 patients with diabetic foot ulcers, comparing 12 interventions including hyperbaric oxygen with standard care or placebo. The participant total covers all interventions.
PeerJ · 2025 · PMID 40821981
A review of 200 papers on diabetic wound mechanisms and management approaches including hyperbaric oxygen, retrieved from multiple databases. Total participant count is not reported in the abstract.
Curr Rev Clin Exp Pharmacol · 2025 · PMID 40452447
15 of 40 records excluded: no abstract (1), no study participants or methods in the abstract (1), a review of artificial intelligence applications rather than wounds (1), retraction notices (4), a study guide on osteomyelitis rather than a journal study (1), a letter rather than a wound intervention study (1), general wound care commentary without distinct hyperbaric oxygen data (1), local oxygen delivery rather than hyperbaric oxygen (1), a review of atopic dermatitis rather than diabetic foot (1), a glucose device accuracy review rather than wound research (1), corneal measurements rather than wound research (1), a dressing intervention rather than hyperbaric oxygen (1).
View the search query
TITLE_ABS:"hyperbaric oxygen" AND (TITLE_ABS:"diabetic foot" OR TITLE_ABS:"diabetic feet") AND FIRST_PDATE:[2025-01-01 TO 2026-10-29] AND (SRC:MED OR SRC:PMC)
Search Europe PMCFrequently asked questions
Are all controlled human studies randomized?
No. The 94 person study explicitly reports randomization. The 235 and 45 person studies are retrospective comparisons; the 20 person study is prospective and nonrandomized.
Are topical oxygen and hyperbaric oxygen grouped as the same intervention?
No. Studies testing only local oxygen delivery were excluded. Reviews comparing several oxygen approaches are identified as covering multiple interventions.
Are retraction notices included?
The 4 retraction notices returned by this search were excluded. Exclusion counts also identify missing abstracts and other interventions or measurement topics.