Use of the SINBAD Classification System and Score in Comparing Outcome of Foot Ulcer Management on Three Continents

TLDR

The study compared diabetic foot ulcer outcomes across the U.K., Germany, Tanzania, and Pakistan and examined a new simplified classification score to assess its predictive value. Researchers evaluated the SINBAD score using data from 449 U.K. patients, then applied it to German, Tanzanian, and Pakistani cohorts, finding a significant correlation between higher scores and longer healing times.

Abstract

To compare populations with and outcomes of diabetic foot ulcers managed in the U.K., Germany, Tanzania, and Pakistan and to explore the use of a new score of ulcer type in comparing outcomes among different countries.Data from a series of 449 patients with diabetic foot ulcers managed in the U.K. were used to evaluate the new simplified system of classification and to derive an aggregate score. The use of the score was then explored using data from series managed in Germany (n = 239), Tanzania (n = 479), and Pakistan (n = 173).A highly significant difference was found in time to healing between ulcers of increasing score in the U.K. series (Kruskal-Wallis test; P = 0). When data from all centers were examined, a step-up in days to healing was noted for those with scores of >or=3 (out of 6). Examination of baseline variables contributing to outcome revealed the following differences among centers: ischemia, ulcer area, and depth contributing to outcome in the U.K.; ischemia, area, depth, and infection in Germany; depth, infection, and neuropathy in Tanzania; and depth alone in Pakistan.Any system of classification designed for general implementation must encompass all the variables that contribute to outcome in different communities. Adoption of a simple score based on these variables, the Site, Ischemia, Neuropathy, Bacterial Infection, and Depth (SINBAD) score, may prove useful in predicting ulcer outcome and enabling comparison among different centers.