Recommendations

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Theray in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

Publication Date: May 1, 2015

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

Recommendation Grading

Grade Definitions on Strength of Recommendation and Guide to Interpretation
Strength	Wording in the guideline	For the patient	For the clinician
Strong	"should use" or "should be used"	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course and only a small proportion would not.	Most individuals should receive the recommended course of action. Formal decision aids are not likely to be needed to help individuals make decisions consistent with their values and preferences.
Conditional	"may be used" or "may consider" or "Y (less preferred drug) may be used instead of X (preferred drug)" or "may consider Y instead of X (preferred drug)"	The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course, but many would not.	Different choices would be appropriate for different patients. Decision aids may be useful in helping individuals in making decisions consistent with their values and preferences. Clinicians should expect to spend more time with patients when working towards a decision.

Grade Definitions of Quality and Certainty of the Evidence
Quality Grade	Definition
High	Very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
Moderate	Moderately confident in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
Low	Confidence in the estimate is limited. The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of effect.
Very low	Very little confidence in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

Document Overview

Document Title: Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Authoring Society: Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

Endorsing Societies

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Infectious Diseases Society of America

Society for Vascular Surgery

World Health Organization

Document Publication Date: May 1, 2015

Page Last Reviewed/Updated: May 5, 2026

Document Type: Guideline

Country of Publication: United States

Full Text Freely Available: Yes

Full Text Guideline: www.uhms.org/images/CPG/UHM_42-3_CPG_for_DFU.pdf

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Scope: Assessment and Screening, Diagnosis, Management, Prevention, Treatment

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D016523 - Foot Ulcer

D017719 - Diabetic Foot

D006931 - Hyperbaric Oxygenation

D006931 - Hyperbaric Oxygenation

D017719 - Diabetic Foot

D016523 - Foot Ulcer

Keywords: Diabetic foot ulcers, Higher DFO, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Lower DFO, wagner grade 2, wagner grade 3

Inclusion Criteria: Female, Male, Adult, Older Adult

Health Care Settings: Ambulatory, Hospital

Intended Users: Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant, Podiatrist

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

Number of Source Documents: 86

Includes peer/external review process?: Yes

Includes public comment process?: Yes

Methodologist involvement?: Yes

Patient involvement?: No

Includes multi-disciplinary group?: Yes

Includes systematic review?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of evidence?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of recommendation?: Yes

Discloses funding source?: Yes

Discloses conflicts of interest?: Yes

Includes benefits/harms analysis with recommendations?: No