Clinical outcomes in people with diabetes‐related foot infections: Analysis from a limb preservation service infection database

Abstract Background Diabetes‐related foot infections are common and represent a significant clinical challenge. There are scant data about outcomes from large cohorts. The purpose of this study was to report clinical outcomes from a large cohort of people with diabetes‐related foot infections. Methods A tertiary referral hospital limb preservation service database was established in 2018, and all new episodes of foot infections were captured prospectively using an electronic database (REDCap). People with foot infections between January 2018 and May 2023, for whom complete data were available on infection episodes, were included. Infection outcomes were compared between skin and soft tissue infections (SST‐DFI) and osteomyelitis (OM) using chi‐square tests. Results Data extraction identified 647 complete DFI episodes in 397 patients. The data set was divided into two cohorts identifying each infection episode and its severity as either SST‐DFI (N = 326, 50%) or OM (N = 321, 50%). Most infection presentations were classified as being moderate (PEDIS 3 = 327, 51%), with 36% mild (PEDIS 2 = 239) and 13% severe (PEDIS 4 = 81). Infection resolution occurred in 69% (n = 449) of episodes with failure in 31% (n = 198). Infection failures were more common with OM than SST‐DFI (OM = 140, 71% vs. SST‐DFI = 58, 29%, p