Search Results
Background:
We sought to determine patient and ulcer characteristics that predict wound healing in patients living with diabetes.
Methods:
A prospective observational study was conducted on 99 patients presenting with diabetic foot ulceration. Patient and ulcer characteristics were recorded. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 1 year.
Results:
After 1 year of follow-up, ulcer characteristics were more predictive of ulcer healing than were patient characteristics. Seventy-seven percent of ulcers had healed and 23% had not healed. Independent predictors of nonhealing were ulcer stage (P = .003), presence of biofilm (P = .020), and ulcer depth (P = .028). Although this study demonstrated that the baseline hemoglobin A1c reading at the start of the study was not a significant predictor of foot ulcer outcome (P = .603, resolved versus amputated), on further statistical analyses, when hemoglobin A1c was compared with the time taken for complete ulcer healing (n = 77), it proved to be significant (P = .009).
Conclusions:
The factors influencing healing are ulcer stage, presence of biofilm, and ulcer depth. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, especially in an outpatient setting. Prediction of outcome may be helpful for health-care professionals in individualizing and optimizing clinical assessment and management of patients. Identification of determinants of outcome could result in improved health outcomes, improved quality of life, and fewer diabetes-related foot complications.
Diabetic foot disease frequently leads to substantial long-term complications, imposing a huge socioeconomic burden on available resources and health-care systems. Peripheral neuropathy, repetitive trauma, and peripheral vascular disease are common underlying pathways that lead to skin breakdown, often setting the stage for limb-threatening infection. Individuals with diabetes presenting with foot infection warrant optimal surgical management to affect limb salvage and prevent amputation; aggressive short-term and meticulous long-term care plans are required. In addition, the initial surgical intervention or series of interventions must be coupled with appropriate systemic metabolic management as part of an integrated, multidisciplinary team. Such teams typically include multiple medical, surgical, and nursing specialties across a variety of public and private health-care systems. This article presents a stepwise approach to the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot infections with emphasis on the appropriate use of surgical interventions and includes the following key elements: incision, wound investigation, debridement, wound irrigation and lavage, and definitive wound closure. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 100(5): 401–405, 2010)
Charcot’s neuroarthropathy is a relatively common disease in patients with diabetic neuropathy. If unrecognized or left untreated, Charcot’s neuroarthropathy can result in a severely misshapen and unstable foot and ankle. Ulceration, soft-tissue infection, and osteomyelitis frequently ensue, and partial or complete amputation of the foot is not uncommon. A high index of suspicion and proper interpretation of clinical and diagnostic findings are essential to establish a timely and accurate diagnosis and to institute appropriate treatment. The pathogenesis of neuroarthropathy is reviewed and diagnosis and treatment of the stage 0 diabetic Charcot foot are presented. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(4): 210-220, 2002)
Leiomyosarcoma of the Foot
A Case Study
Leiomyosarcoma is a very rare malignant tumor, with only 28 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year. The prognosis varies, with average 5-year survival of 65%. Although most leiomyosarcomas occur in the lower extremity, there is a paucity in the literature on these sarcomas in the foot. Only 15 cases of leiomyosarcoma in the foot have been reported in the literature since the mid-1930s. We describe a 31-year-old man with a history of an ingrown toenail and nonhealing pyogenic granuloma. His clinical presentation suggested atypical tissue. Biopsy findings confirmed the diagnosis of spindle cell sarcoma, specifically, leiomyosarcoma. The patient was treated with amputation of the affected hallux and adjuvant therapy. The similar presentations of a pyogenic granuloma and a malignant tumor necessitate a thorough differential diagnosis with even common foot ailments. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 97(6): 475–479, 2007)
Background
Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) is an aggressive (myo)fibroblastic neoplasm with an infiltrative growth pattern and a tendency for local recurrence. It is rarely seen at the foot. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze clinical presentation, therapy, and outcomes in a consecutive series of four patients with DF at the foot.
Methods
From 1994 to 2014, four patients had been surgically treated. The resection margin was marginal or even intralesional in all. One patient already had local recurrence at first presentation. The end point was either local recurrence or progression of residual disease.
Results
The mean patient age was 27 years. In one patient, marginal excision healed the disease. In another patient, local recurrence after marginal resection necessitated distal phalanx amputation. Two other patients showed stable disease after either adjuvant radiotherapy or treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and tamoxifen.
Conclusions
If surgery is necessary, operative margins are less important than keeping function for the patient. Radiotherapy might be an option to avoid major amputation. The role of adjuvant radiotherapy is controversially discussed. A watchful wait-and-see policy seems to be justified by the published data but may be difficult for DF at the foot.
Background:
We sought to evaluate the relationship between baseline hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and clinical outcomes, including foot ulcer outcome (resolved versus unresolved) and wound-healing time, in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Methods:
A prospective observational study was conducted on 99 patients presenting with a diabetic foot ulceration. Patient and ulcer characteristics were recorded. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 1 year.
Results:
After 1 year of follow-up, 77% of ulcers healed and 23% did not heal. Although this study demonstrated that the baseline HbA1c reading was not a significant predictor of foot ulcer outcome (P = .603, resolved versus amputated), on further statistical analyses, when HbA1c was compared with the time taken for complete ulcer healing in the resolved group (n = 77), it proved to be significant (P = .009).
Conclusions:
These findings have important implications for clinical practice, especially in an outpatient setting. Improving glycemic control may improve ulcer outcomes. Prediction of outcome may be helpful for health-care professionals in individualizing and optimizing clinical assessment and management of patients. Identification of determinants of outcome could result in improved health outcomes, improved quality of life, and fewer diabetes-related foot complications.
Background
Charcot's neuroarthropathy (CN) treatment is still controversial, and the results are controversial. Owing to patient comorbidities, surgical intervention carries a high risk of complications. Thus, foreseeing the possible results of planned treatment is crucial. We retrospectively evaluated the Charcot Reconstruction Preoperative Prognostic Score (CRPPS) in patients with surgically treated CN.
Methods
Twenty-two feet of 20 patients were included in the study. Two groups were formed according to their CRPPS. Twelve patients with values less than 4 were defined as group A, and eight patients with values of 4 or greater were defined as group B. Mean follow-up was 61 months (range, 5–131 months). Groups were compared according to American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) scores, and complication rates.
Results
Group A and B mean AOFAS scores were 76.83 (range, 71–85) and 70.5 (range, 20–85), respectively. All of the patients were improved according to AOFAS and FADI scores, but no correlation was found with the CRPPS. None of the group A patients required additional intervention, but five patients in group B underwent revision surgery. No amputations were performed.
Conclusions
The CRPPS is focused on feasibility. The data needed to fill the scoring system is easily obtainable from medical records even retrospectively, and the score is helpful to predict a patient's outcome after CN-related surgery. Herein, CRPPS values of 4 or greater were related to high complication rates and lower functional outcomes.
Background:
Selecting empirical therapy for a diabetic foot infection (DFI) requires knowing how likely infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is in a particular patient. We designed this study to define the risk factors associated with P aeruginosa in DFI.
Methods:
We performed a preplanned microbiological subanalysis of data from a study assessing the effects of treatment with intralesional epidermal growth factor for diabetic foot wounds in patients in Turkey between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2013. Patients were screened for risk factors, and the data of enrolled individuals were recorded in custom-designed patient data forms. Factors affecting P aeruginosa isolation were evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, with statistical significance set at P < .05.
Results:
There were 174 patients enrolled in the main study. Statistical analysis was performed in 90 evaluable patients for whom we had microbiological assessments. Cultures were sterile in 19 patients, and 89 bacterial isolates were found in the other 71. The most frequently isolated bacteria were P aeruginosa (n = 23, 25.8%) and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 12, 13.5%). Previous lower-extremity amputation and a history of using active wound dressings were the only statistically significant independent risk factors for the isolation of P aeruginosa in these DFIs.
Conclusions:
This retrospective study provides some information on risk factors for infection with this difficult pathogen in patients with DFI. We need prospective studies in various parts of the world to better define this issue.
Evaluating Iatrogenic Complications of the Total-Contact Cast
An 8-Year Retrospective Review at Cleveland Clinic
Background: Total-contact casting is an effective method to treat various pathologic abnormalities in patients with diabetic neuropathy, but its use is frequently associated with iatrogenic complications.
Methods: The largest retrospective review to date of iatrogenic complications of total-contact casts was conducted over an 8-year period at Cleveland Clinic.
Results: In the past 8 years, 23% of patients developed complications, and the most common complication was a new heel ulcer formation. Of these complications, 92.1% resolved, 6.4% were lost to follow-up, and 1.4% resulted in a partial foot amputation. Mean cast duration was 10.3 days for patients who developed a total-contact cast iatrogenic complication. The most common indication for the use of a total-contact cast was a neuropathic foot ulceration.
Conclusions: The results of this study support the use of total-contact casting in the insensate patient with diabetes. However, adequate staff training in total-contact cast application is recommended to reduce complications.
Background
Retrograde intramedullary nailing for tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis (TTCA) is used for severe hindfoot deformities, end-stage arthritis, and limb salvage. The procedure is technically demanding, with complications such as infection, hardware failure, nonunion, osteomyelitis, and possible limb loss or death. This study reports the outcomes and complications of patients undergoing TTCA with a femoral nail, which is widely available and offers an extensive range of lengths and diameters.
Methods
We performed a retrospective review of 104 patients who underwent 109 TTCAs using a femoral nail as the primary procedure (January 2006 through December 2016). Demographic data, risk factors, and outcomes were evaluated.
Results
At final follow-up, the overall clinical union rate was 89 of 109 (81.7%). Diabetes mellitus was negatively associated with limb salvage (P = .03), and peripheral neuropathy (P = .02) and Charcot's neuroarthropathy (P = .03) were negatively associated with clinical union. Only four patients (3.8%) underwent proximal amputation, at an average of 6.1 months, and 11 patients (10.6%) died, at a mean of 38.0 months. The most common complication was ulceration in 27 of 109 limbs (24.8%), followed by infection in 25 (22.9%). Twenty-three patients (22.1%) underwent revision procedures, at a mean of 9.4 months. Thirteen of these 23 patients (56.5%) had antibiotic cement rod spacers/rods for deep infection–related complications.
Conclusions
Use of a femoral nail has been shown to provide similar outcomes and limb salvage rates compared with other methods of TTCA reported for similar indications in the literature.
