Long-Term Prognosis of Diabetic Foot Patients and Their Limbs

TLDR

Long‑term data on patient and limb survival in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients are scarce. This prospective study followed 247 DFU patients without prior major amputation for more than 10 years to evaluate limb and overall survival. Patients (mean age 68.8 ± 10.9 years, 58.7% male, 55.5% with peripheral arterial disease) were monitored from 1998–1999 to 2011, and time to first major amputation and death were analyzed using Kaplan‑Meier curves and Cox regression. During follow‑up, 15.4% underwent major amputation and cumulative mortality reached 70.4% at 10 years, with age, dialysis, PAD, male sex, and renal insufficiency emerging as significant predictors of amputation and death, underscoring that limb salvage is relatively favorable but overall survival remains poor, especially among those with PAD or renal disease.

Abstract

There is a dearth of long-term data regarding patient and limb survival in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The purpose of our study was therefore to prospectively investigate the limb and person survival of DFU patients during a follow-up period of more than 10 years.Two hundred forty-seven patients with DFUs and without previous major amputation consecutively presenting to a single diabetes center between June 1998 and December 1999 were included in this study and followed up until May 2011. Mean patient age was 68.8 ± 10.9 years, 58.7% were male, and 55.5% had peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Times to first major amputation and to death were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox multiple regression.A first major amputation occurred in 38 patients (15.4%) during follow-up. All but one of these patients had evidence of PAD at inclusion in the study, and 51.4% had severe PAD [ankle-brachial pressure index ≤0.4]). Age (hazard ratio [HR] per year, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.01-1.10]), being on dialysis (3.51 [1.02-12.07]), and PAD (35.34 [4.81-259.79]) were significant predictors for first major amputation. Cumulative mortalities at years 1, 3, 5, and 10 were 15.4, 33.1, 45.8, and 70.4%, respectively. Significant predictors for death were age (HR per year, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.06-1.10]), male sex ([1.18-2.32]), chronic renal insufficiency (1.83 [1.25-2.66]), dialysis (6.43 [3.14-13.16]), and PAD (1.44 [1.05-1.98]).Although long-term limb salvage in this modern series of diabetic foot patients is favorable, long-term survival remains poor, especially among patients with PAD or renal insufficiency.