The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of discharge destination on diabetes‐related limb salvage surgery outcomes post‐hospitalisation. This was a single‐centre, observational, descriptive study of 175 subjects with diabetes who underwent limb salvage surgery of a minor foot amputation or wide incision and debridement for an acutely infected diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Comparisons were made between subjects discharged home vs a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for 12 months postoperatively. Univariate, multivariate, and time‐to‐event analyses were performed. The SNF discharge group (n = 40) had worse outcomes with longer healing time (P = .022), more rehospitalisations requiring a podiatry consult (P = .009), increase of subsequent ipsilateral major lower‐extremity amputation (P = .028), and a higher mortality rate (P = .012) within the 12‐month postoperative period. There was no significant difference between the cohorts in surgically cleared osteomyelitis (P = .8434). The Charlson Comorbidity Index values for those discharged home and those in a short‐term nursing facility were similar (P = .3819; home truex¯=5.33 ± 2.84 vs SNF truex¯=5.75 ± 2.06). The planned discharge destination after limb salvage surgery among people with an acutely infected DFU should be an added risk factor for healing outcomes. Patients discharged to SNFs experience additional morbidity and mortality compared with patients discharged home post‐hospitalisation.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer within the United States. Reports estimate that 1 in 5 Americans will develop some form of skin cancer. Eccrine porocarcinoma is a rare type of skin cancer of sweat gland origin. Eccrine porocarcinoma is most commonly found on the lower extremities. Clinically it may appear similar to benign skin lesions and it has significant metastatic potential. The authors present a case report with 22 months’ follow-up. It describes a multiyear delay in diagnosis involving 3 specialties, including primary care, dermatology, and wound physical therapy. Information is given on techniques when high-risk cutaneous cancers are suspected or encountered. A multispecialty treatment plan is discussed. Levels of Evidence: Level V
Introduction: Standard of care for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) includes wound debridement, dressing changes, diabetes control, and offloading. Despite this, half of all patients fail to heal when standard of care is met. Offloading DFU is critical to promote wound healing, yet patient adherence is undesirably low and contributes to failed wound healing. We evaluated patient knowledge of DFU offloading through a voluntary telephone survey. Methods: Participants were recruited from a tertiary care center podiatry department and completed a 21-item telephone survey. All subjects had a history of diabetes and were included regardless of DFU history. Descriptive statistics and chi square were calculated to evaluate survey responses. Results: Currently 92 of 167 subjects (55.1%) completed the telephone survey. All subjects regardless of DFU history correctly identified DFU increases risk of amputation (DFU95.7%; n=88/92). All subjects regardless of DFU history identified “offloading” and “pressure relief” as important factors to improve DFU healing (97.8%; n=90/92; 98.9%; n=91/92, respectively). Only a minority (43.5%; n=40/92) of participants were able to correctly identify the best offloading strategy, regardless of DFU history (DFU history 48.5%; n=16/33 vs. No DFU history 40.7%; n=24/59; p=0.5155). Discussion: We hypothesized people with a history of a DFU would understand the concept of offloading better, but yet patients who had a history of a DFU were as likely to misunderstand the term “offloading” compared to patients who have no history of a previous DFU. Our findings importantly identify a gap in patient education surrounding an essential component of DFU standard of care. Disclosure R. A. Burmeister: None. C. Holmes: None. C. Jarocki: None. T. Strom: None. G. M. Torrence: Research Support; Self; Kent Imaging. B. M. Schmidt: None.
BackgroundDiabetes mellitus continues to be a rising concern in the United States. It affects an estimated 9.4% of the population and approximately 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed annually. Approximately 85% of diabetic foot ulcers are associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and an infected diabetic foot ulcer is often the first sign of diabetes. There are countless studies within the literature that investigate how insensate feet and the manifestation of a foot ulcer further decrease quality of life and increase risk for mortality. Literature focuses on gait and kinematics that contribute to the formation of a diabetic foot ulcer. While pressure and shear forces are etiologic factors that may lead to the formation of diabetic foot ulcers, the position of the foot while driving an automobile has been ignored as a possible risk factor.Case presentationThe clinical case will describe the events of healing a neuropathic diabetic foot ulcer beyond the standard of care treatment plan. It is one of the first case reports to describe vehicle ergonomics as an etiologic factor contributing to a diabetic foot ulcer. Once the patient becomes aware of the unnecessary source of pressure, education and care is provided to manage this likely source of daily pressure to the neuropathic foot.ConclusionThe article emphasizes the importance of a complete assessment, including nontraditional factors, which may lead to diabetic complications.
Background The prevalence of diabetes mellitus continues to rise. Diabetic foot ulcers with osteomyelitis are a diabetes-related complication presenting a significant burden to this cohort. A cure to diabetic foot osteomyelitis remains elusive and standard of care has failed to improve outcomes. To advance research and better patient outcomes, the authors offer specific guidance with terminology to enhance operative dictations which may improve surgical practice and guide treatment. Methods A consecutive review of podiatric surgical dictations for inpatient diabetic foot osteomyelitis within a tertiary care facility was performed. Surgical descriptors of bone were standardized: density, anatomic structure, vascular thrombosis, color, and draining sinus. Correlations between the five categories and histopathological results were performed after kappa analysis for interrater reliability was performed. Results Kappa coefficient demonstrated high inter-reliability of surgical findings. This suggests potential agreement amongst surgeons performing similar procedures. It was also found that specific bone descriptors had moderate to strong correlation with clean histopathologic bone margins when biopsied. This further suggests that the use of standardized terms may help guide definitive therapy. Conclusions The authors suggest a standardized approach which includes consistent descriptors of intraoperative bone. With use of standardized terms, vague and blanket descriptors are eliminated. This has potential to improve understanding of changes within bone as a result of infection and diabetes. Early and improved communication of intraoperative findings will enhance the multidisciplinary approach. This could potentially lead to changes in diabetic foot management and may limit hospital waste waiting for final cultures and pathology reports.
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