Search

Objective: To determine the outcome of heel ulcers in people with diabetes. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Diabetic Foot Department of Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE), Karachi. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of BIDE. Relevant records of all patients of both genders with diabetes aged 18–80 years and ulcer over the heel visiting the Diabetic Foot Clinic from January 2016 to December 2020 were retrieved from the hospital management system of BIDE for evaluation. Pre-designed proformas were filled and Statistical Package for Social Science version 20 was used to analyze data. Results: Overall data of 1073 diabetic people with heel ulcers was retrieved, among them the mean age was 57.95 ± 11.96 years, and 715(66.6%) participants were male. Type 2 diabetes was found in 821 (97.9%) participants and 548 (65.6%) had >10 years duration of diabetes. In regard to type of ulcer, 876 (81.6%) were neuropathic ulcers, 91 (8.5%) were ischemic, and 89 (8.3%) were neuroischemic ulcers. According to university of Texas classification wound classification, 725 (67.6%) fell in stage B followed by 238 (22.2%) in stage A. Regarding heel ulcer outcome, a majority of 459 (95.8%) healed without amputation and only 15 (3.1%) healed with major amputation. Conclusion: We found that the majority of the people with heel ulcers had a favorable outcome and healed without an lower extremity amputation.

Background & Objective: Anemia is common finding in people with diabetes and diabetic foot ulcers. Therefore, our objective was to observe and compare the association of anemia in people with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with age and sex matched people without DFUs., Method: This prospective case control study was undertaken at a multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic of Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) between October 2014 and October 2015. Participants were categorized into two groups; Case group (people with DFUs) and Control group (people without DFUs). Baseline demographic characteristics, biochemical and hematological parameters were recorded. University of Texas (UT) classification system was used to grade and stage DFU in case group. Subjects with other apparent causes of anaemia were excluded. Age and sex matched controls were taken from diabetic clinic presented during same time period. Data was analyzed by using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20., Results: Total of 161 participants in case group were compared with similar number of age and sex matched participants of control group. Most of the participants were males 119(73.9%). Age and sex matched case and control groups were comparable except for duration of diabetes, BMI and HDL levels. Overall, 85.67% case group (males 64.56%); females 21.11%) and 35.3% control group (males 22.9%; females12.4%) have anemia. Mean Hb level was 10.49g/dl in case group and 13.39g/dl in control group. Significant differences were also noted in other blood parameters., Conclusion: Our study concludes that anaemia is strongly associated with DFU disease. Anaemia should be considered and treated as co-morbidity while managing patients with foot ulcers.