Patients with an infected diabetic foot ulcer have a far worse prognosis than previously thought, with 15% of patients dying within a year, less than half of the ulcers healing in the same time period, and one in seven individuals having all or part of their foot amputated, results from a new UK study reveal.
The analysis of almost 300 patients with infected diabetic foot ulcers also showed that, even if the ulcer healed, nearly 10% experienced a recurrence within 12 months and more than 25% of patients underwent some kind of procedure.
It’s therefore crucial that such patients are reviewed quickly and referred for specialist care if required, say Mwidimi Ndosi, PhD, of the University of West Bristol, United Kingdom, and colleagues in their paper published online November 20 in Diabetic Medicine … read more (registration required)