Complex lower extremity ulcers with exposed bone, tendon, muscle, and/or joint capsule as well as multiple comorbidities including diabetes, ischemia, and underlying osteomyelitis are difficult to heal and associated with high morbidity and mortality and high rates of amputation. A retrospective review was performed to assess healing of 31 patients presenting with 33 complex foot ulcers with a confirmed histopathological diagnosis of osteomyelitis treated by the same surgeon at a single wound care center by the following treatment regimen: sharp debridement, resection of infected bone when necessary, open cortex, antibiotics, and application of cryopreserved umbilical cord (cUC). The average ulcer size was 15.6 ± 17.7 cm (0.4-73.95 cm ). Overall, 26 out of the 33 wounds achieved complete closure (78.8%). Five patients were lost to follow-up and one patient expired during the course of treatment, not believed to be treatment related. Of the remaining 27 wounds in patients not lost to follow-up, 26 achieved complete healing with an average time to healing of 16 weeks and an average of 1.24 applications of cUC. The results suggest that cUC used as an adjunctive tissue therapy in conjunction with surgical debridement, resection of infected bone, open cortex, and antibiotic treatment may be an effective overall treatment strategy to promote wound healing of complex foot ulcers associated with osteomyelitis. The preliminary results are encouraging and warrant further randomized control studies to determine whether cUC might help address such an unmet medical need.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in March of 2020, and its associated surges have had an immense impact on the ability of medical staff to perform their daily activities. Thus, we sought to direct patients who had gram-positive Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) to our Outpatient Department/Wound Care Center for treatment. We met the challenge of the pandemic by shifting care in the treatment of ABSSSI using a new antibiotic delivery system. We examined the use and cost-effectiveness of Dalbavancin, a unique long-acting lipoglycopeptide antibiotic that is used in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 631 patients were treated in the Outpatient Department/Wound Care Center, with re-evaluation at the Wound Care Center on Day 3 post-infusion. The primary test of cure or major improvement was based on a 4- to 6-week re-assessment by the Wound Care Center Faculty (i.e., Podiatric, Vascular, Plastics, and Infectious Diseases). Treatment effectiveness was determined by examining documentation at follow-up. We also looked at the number of Outpatient Department treatments at the Wound Care Center for the periods 2018-2019 and 2020-2021. The shift of patients from the Emergency Department/Inpatient Department to the Outpatient Department/Wound Care Center was made possible by the use of the novel, streamlined, safe, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, well-tolerated antibiotic Dalbavancin. Dalbavancin is not prescribed for gram-negative infections, or for random prescribing, contamination, colonization, or prophylaxis. Dalbavancin has a low infusion reaction, low toxicity, long half-life, and low incidence of adverse reactions. Use of this medication was helpful for decreasing the inpatient burden in our facility.