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Aims/hypothesis Outcome data on individuals with diabetic foot ulcers are scarce, especially in those with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). We therefore examined the clinical characteristics that best predict poor outcome in a large population of diabetic foot ulcer patients and examined whether such predictors differ between patients with and without PAD. Methods Analyses were conducted within the EURODIALE Study, a prospective cohort study of 1,088 diabetic foot ulcer patients across 14 centres in Europe. Multiple logistic regression modelling was used to identify independent predictors of outcome (i.e. non-healing of the foot ulcer). Results After 1 year of follow-up, 23% of the patients had not healed. Independent baseline predictors of non-healing in the whole study population were older age, male sex, heart failure, the inability to stand or walk without help, end-stage renal disease, larger ulcer size, peripheral neuropathy and PAD. When analyses were performed according to PAD status, infection emerged as a specific predictor of non-healing in PAD patients only. Conclusions/interpretation Predictors of healing differ between patients with and without PAD, suggesting that diabetic foot ulcers with or without concomitant PAD should be defined as two separate disease states. The observed negative impact of infection on healing that was confined to patients with PAD needs further investigation.

The aim of the present study was to investigate resource utilisation and associated costs in patients with diabetic foot ulcers and to analyse differences in resource utilisation between individuals with or without peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and/or infection.Data on resource utilisation were collected prospectively in a European multicentre study. Data on 1,088 patients were available for the analysis of resource use, and data on 821 patients were included in the costing analysis. Costs were calculated for each patient by multiplying the country-specific direct and indirect unit costs by the number of resources used from inclusion into the study up to a defined endpoint. Country-specific costs were converted into purchasing power standards.Resource use and costs varied between outcome groups and between disease severity groups. The highest costs per patient were for hospitalisation, antibiotics, amputations and other surgery. All types of resource utilisation and costs increased with the severity of disease. The total cost per patient was more than four times higher for patients with infection and PAD at inclusion than for patients in the least severe group, who had neither.Important differences in resource use and costs were found between different patient groups. The costs are highest for individuals with both peripheral arterial disease and infection, and these are mainly related to substantial costs for hospitalisation. In view of the magnitude of the costs associated with in-hospital stay, reducing the number and duration of hospital admissions seems an attractive option to decrease costs in diabetic foot disease.

Large clinical studies describing the typical clinical presentation of diabetic foot ulcers are limited and most studies were performed in single centres with the possibility of selection of specific subgroups. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of diabetic patients with a foot ulcer in 14 European hospitals in ten countries. The study population included 1,229 consecutive patients presenting with a new foot ulcer between 1 September 2003 and 1 October 2004. Standardised data on patient characteristics, as well as foot and ulcer characteristics, were obtained. Foot disease was categorised into four stages according to the presence or absence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and infection: A: PAD -, infection -; B: PAD -, infection +; C: PAD +, infection -; D: PAD +, infection +. PAD was diagnosed in 49% of the subjects, infection in 58%. The majority of ulcers (52%) were located on the non-plantar surface of the foot. With regard to severity, 24% had stage A, 27% had stage B, 18% had stage C and 31% had stage D foot disease. Patients in the latter group had a distinct profile: they were older, had more non-plantar ulcers, greater tissue loss and more serious comorbidity. According to our results in this European cohort, the severity of diabetic foot ulcers at presentation is greater than previously reported, as one-third had both PAD and infection. Non-plantar foot ulcers were more common than plantar ulcers, especially in patients with severe disease, and serious comorbidity increased significantly with increasing severity of foot disease. Further research is needed to obtain insight into the clinical outcome of these patients.