---
title: "Toa Uzito Low-Cost Offloading Device Improves Healing of Plantar Diabetic Foot Ulcers"
id: "pubmed-42670286"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pubmed-42670286"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Pharmacology"
source_name: "PubMed / NCBI"
source_url: "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/"
doi: "10.1111/iwj.71026"
published_at: "2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Journal Article"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Toa Uzito Low-Cost Offloading Device Improves Healing of Plantar Diabetic Foot Ulcers
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pubmed-42670286
- **Specialty:** [Pharmacology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pharmacology.md)
- **Primary Source:** PubMed / NCBI
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/)
- **DOI:** [10.1111/iwj.71026](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fiwj.71026)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Journal Article
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- Study evaluated a low-cost offloading device, **Toa Uzito**, for healing plantar diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in a resource-limited setting. - Design: matched case-control clinical study at a specialised diabetic foot centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. - Population: patients with a single plantar DFU; total N = 621 (128 intervention, 493 controls). - Matching: controls matched to intervention cases by age, body mass index, and diabetes duration. - Intervention: treatment with the low-cost **Toa Uzito** offloading device; control group received standard care without offloading. - Primary outcome: time to complete ulcer healing; analyses used Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression. - Follow-up: mean follow-up 133.8 days across the cohort. - Key results: at 12 weeks, 44.9% of intervention patients healed versus 34.9% of controls; at 24 weeks, 85% healed in the intervention group versus 75.2% in controls. - Mean healing times reported shorter for the intervention group: 125.7 days versus 137.5 days for controls. - Stratified analysis by SINBAD classification showed significantly superior healing with Toa Uzito (χ2 = 71.2, p < 0.01). - Authors conclude the **low-cost Toa Uzito** significantly improves **healing rates** and reduces time to healing, and its affordability and simplicity make it an effective offloading strategy in resource-limited settings. - Keywords highlighted in the source: diabetic foot; low cost offloading; offloading devices; plantar ulcer; ulcer classification.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
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Affiliations Expand ### Affiliations * 1 Abbas Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. * 2 Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. * 3 University of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, UK. * 4 School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester, UK. * PMID: **42670286** * DOI: [ 10.1111/iwj.71026 ](https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.71026) Item in Clipboard # Effectiveness of an Affordable Toa Uzito Offloading Device for Healing Plantar Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Matched Case-Control Clinical Study Zulfiqarali G Abbas et al. Int Wound J. 2026 Sep. Show details Display options Display options Format Abstract PubMed PMID Int Wound J Actions * [ Search in PubMed ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Int+Wound+J%22%5Bjour%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc) * [ Search in NLM Catalog ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog?term=%22Int+Wound+J%22%5BTitle+Abbreviation%5D) * [ Add to Search ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/) . 2026 Sep;23(9):e71026. doi: 10.1111/iwj.71026. ### Authors [Zulfiqarali G Abbas](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Abbas+ZG&cauthor_id=42670286)[ 1 ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/#short-view-affiliation-1 "Abbas Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.")[ 2 ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/#short-view-affiliation-2 "Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.")[ 3 ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/#short-view-affiliation-3 "University of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, UK."), [Roozbeh Naemi](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Naemi+R&cauthor_id=42670286)[ 4 ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42670286/#short-view-affiliation-4 "School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester, UK.") ### Affiliations * 1 Abbas Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. * 2 Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. * 3 University of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, UK. * 4 School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester, UK. * PMID: **42670286** * DOI: [ 10.1111/iwj.71026 ](https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.71026) Item in Clipboard Cite Display options Display options Format Abstract PubMed PMID ## Abstract Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are difficult to manage in resource-limited settings, where access to standard offloading devices is limited for healing of plantar diabetic foot ulcers. This is due to the cost, limited availability, and the need for specialised expertise. Toa Uzito is a low-cost offloading device developed to address this gap. We evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost offloading device (Toa Uzito) in improving healing outcomes in patients with plantar ulcers. A matched case-control clinical study was conducted at a specialised diabetic foot centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Patients with a single plantar DFU were enrolled. Those treated with Toa Uzito were compared with matched controls who received standard care without offloading. Controls were matched based on age, body mass index, and diabetes duration. The primary outcome was time to complete ulcer healing. Healing were analysed using Kaplan Meier survival analysis and Cox regression. A total of 621 patients were included (128 intervention, 493 controls), with a mean follow-up of 133.8 days. Ulcer healing was significantly better in the intervention group: 44.9% healed (versus 34.9% in controls) by 12 weeks, and increasing to 85% (versus 75.2% in controls) by 24 weeks. All patients in the intervention group healed, with a shorter mean healing time (125.7 vs. 137.5 days). Toa Uzito also demonstrated significantly superior healing efficacy compared with standard care after stratification by SINBAD classification (χ2 = 71.2, p . 2. 1. Z. G. Abbas, “Diabetic‐Foot Complications in African and Antarctica Continents,” in Diabetic Foot Ulcer, ed. M. Zubair, J. Ahmad, A. Malik, and M. R. Talluri (Springer, 2021), 29–40, [https://doi.org/10.1007/978‐981‐157639‐3_2](https://doi.org/10.1007/978%E2%80%90981%E2%80%90157639%E2%80%903_2). 3. 1. Z. G. Abbas, “The Diabetic Foot Worldwide: Sub‐Saharan Africa,” in The Foot in Diabetes, ed. A. J. M. Boulton, G. Rayman, and D. Wukich (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2020), 379–385. 4. 1. Z. G. Abbas and A. Bal, eds., Pocket Guideline of Diabetic Foot, 2nd ed. (Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd., 2019). 5. 1. Z. G. Abbas, “The Global Burden of Diabetic Foot,” in Contemporary Management of Diabetic Foot, ed. P. Sharad (JP Medical Ltd, 2013), 24–30. 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