Kaitlyn D’Onofrio

DocwireNews

Patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) have a high mortality risk, researchers found in a recent study.&nbsp;Between January 2003 and June 2015, first-time DFU patients at the Multi-Disciplinary Foot Clinic&nbsp;at Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory Australia&nbsp;were followed until 2017 or death. Hospital and primary care information systems&nbsp;were used to find individual patient data.&nbsp;Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used, and Cox regression was used to evaluate the association between&nbsp;certain risk factors and mortality.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DidYouKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DidYouKnow</a> Diabetic foot ulcers are common &ndash; in fact, One in Four people with diabetes will develop at least one ulcer post-diagnosis. 
Ulcers can be serious and life-threatening!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DYK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DYK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/footulcers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#footulcers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/diabetes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#diabetes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/foot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#foot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/diabetic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#diabetic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/diabeticfoot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#diabeticfoot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/podiatry?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#podiatry</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/orthotic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#orthotic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amputee?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#amputee</a> <a href="https://t.co/vFZuWgaaSe">pic.twitter.com/vFZuWgaaSe</a>
&mdash; Vascular &amp; Cardiothoracic Associates of Maryland (@vctamd) <a href="https://twitter.com/vctamd/status/1082441835262459907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2019</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Of 666 patients who were screened, 513 were included in the study (median follow-up, 5.8 years; mean age at baseline, 59.9 years; 62.8% male). Nearly all (93.6%) patients had type 2 diabetes; median disease duration was seven years. One hundred ninety-nine patients died; nearly a quarter (24.6%) died within five years, and 45.4% died within a decade (mean age at death, 64.6 years).&nbsp;A multivariate analysis found that certain factors were also associated with mortality (adjusted HR, 95% CI), including&nbsp;age&nbsp;(1.04,&nbsp;1.02&ndash;1.05, P &lt; 0.001),&nbsp;chronic kidney disease&nbsp;(1.22,&nbsp;1.11&ndash;1.33, P &lt; 0.001), and plasma albumin&nbsp;(0.96,&nbsp;0.94&ndash;0.99, P &lt; 0.05).&nbsp;Patients were most likely to die due to&nbsp;chronic kidney disease (24.6%), cardiovascular events (19.6%), sepsis (15.6%), respiratory failure (10.0%), malignancy (9.5%) and multi-organ failure (5.0%).&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
15% of patients with diabetes develop <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/footulcers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#footulcers</a>. If you notice an ulcer on your foot, seek care immediately to improve function and quality of life and reduce the risk of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/infection?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#infection</a> and possible amputation. <a href="https://t.co/nGh7QACH16">pic.twitter.com/nGh7QACH16</a>
&mdash; Goldsmith Podiatry (@GoldsmithFootDr) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoldsmithFootDr/status/1082336439160000512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2019</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>One of the study&rsquo;s limitations was its retrospective nature, allowing for potential ascertainment bias. There were also no patients with simple superficial ulcers included in the study, as those are treated in a primary care setting, meaning the study&rsquo;s findings may not apply to this population.&nbsp;https://twitter.com/Palliative_Bio/status/1081305043230285824The researchers concluded, &ldquo;The presence of a DFU should be seen by health care providers as an alarming signal to premature&nbsp;death, and&nbsp;should be used to initiate intensive risk factor reduction and close follow-up.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/home-page-picks/type-2-diabetes-cardiovascular-risks/">Type 2 Diabetes ADMs Increase Cardiovascular Risks</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/uncategorized/fda-permits-marketing-of-artificial-intelligence-based-device-to-detect-certain-diabetes-related-eye-problems/">FDA permits marketing of artificial intelligence-based device to detect certain diabetes-related eye problems</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/orthopedic-surgery/hind%E2%80%90-and-midfoot-bone-morphology-varies-with-foot-type-and-sex/">Hind&#8208; and Midfoot Bone Morphology Varies with Foot Type and Sex</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/gastric-banding-metformin-%CE%B2-cell/">Gastric Banding and Metformin Have Similar Effects on &beta;-cell Function in Some Type 2 Diabetes Patients</a>&nbsp;Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12902-018-0327-2">BMC Endocrine Disorders</a>

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Diabetic Foot Ulcers Associated with Increased Mortality

Diabetes

Patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) have a high mortality risk, researchers found in a recent study.  ...

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