Effects of continuing nursing intervention on high-risk patients with diabetic foot ulcers: A meta-analysis

A comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of continuous nursing interventions on patients with high-risk diabetic foot (DF). We systematically searched electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), from database inception to October 2023, pertaining to continuous nursing interventions in high-risk DF patients. Independent literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two researchers. Data analysis was executed using Stata 17.0 software. Overall, 18 RCTs involving 1450 high-risk DF patients were included. The analysis revealed that continuous nursing interventions significantly reduced levels of fasting blood glucose (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.29 to -0.76, p < 0.001), 2-h postprandial blood glucose (SMD = -1.76, 95%CI: -2.23 to -1.29, p < 0.001) and glycated haemoglobin levels (SMD = -1.05, 95%CI: -1.40 to -0.70, p < 0.001) in high-risk DF patients. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in the incidence of DF (odds ratio [OR] = 0.22, 95%CI: 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). This study demonstrates that continuous nursing interventions are effective in controlling glycaemic indices (fasting blood glucose, 2-h postprandial blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin) and reducing the incidence of DF in high-risk patients. These interventions contribute to stabilizing the patients' condition and optimizing their prognosis.