Effect of Yinqi ointment on wound morphology and growth factor in treating diabetic foot ulcer

Objective: To investigate the effect of Yinqi ointment on wound morphology and growth factor in treating diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Methods: From December 2016 to December 2017, 92 cases of DFU with deficiency of both Qi and Yin syndrome were randomly divided into treatment group and control group (44 cases in each group). The treatment group was treated with Yinqi ointment, while the control group was treated with mupirocin ointment. After 4 weeks of treatment, the ulcer healing effect, ulcer area, granulation tissue, epithelial tissue coverage, pain score, and dynamic analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermis growth factor (EGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in local granulation tissue were statistically analyzed before and after treatment in both groups. Results: The total effective rate was 88.37% in the treatment group and 74.42% in the control group. The wound reduction rate, epithelial tissue coverage rate, granulation tissue growth rate, and local pain relief rate in the treatment group were significantly superior to those in the control group (P < 0.05). Through the local granulation detection, the treatment group and the control group have increased VEGF, EGF, and bFGF, but the treatment group increased the role of growth factor than the control group. Conclusion: Yinqi ointment can promote the healing of DFU, and its mechanism may be related to the increase of the content of growth factor in granulation tissue