Frequency of Foot Ulcers in People with Type 2 Diabetes, Presenting to Specialist Diabetes Clinic at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Diabetic foot ulceration is a serious limb-threatening complication of diabetes. It is the common cause of hospital admissions and amputations. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) and its association with age, gender, duration of diabetes, peripheral neuropathy (PN), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and HbA1c.

Methods: A total of 1940 people (≥ 30 years of age) with type 2 diabetes coming to the Sakina Institute of Diabetes and Endocrine Research (specialist diabetes clinic) at Shalamar Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, were recruited over a period of 1 year from January 2016 to January 2017. The foot ulcers were identified according to the University of Texas classification. PN was assessed by biothesiometer and PAD by ankle-brachial index (< 0.9). Body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), HbA1c and duration of diabetes were recorded.

Results: The prevalence of DFU was 7.02%, of which 4.5% of the ulcers were on the planter and 2.6% on the dorsal surface of the foot; 8.5% of the persons had bilateral foot ulcers and 0.4% subjects had Charcot deformity. There was significant association of foot ulcers with age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, PN and PAD, whereas no association was observed with gender and BMI. PN and PAD were observed in 26.3 and 6.68% of people with diabetes respectively. Neuropathic ulcers and neuro-ischemic ulcers were identified in 74 and 19% of the study population. Logistic regression analysis revealed significant odds ratio for peripheral neuropathy 23.9 (95% confidence interval (5.41-105.6).

Conclusions: Peripheral neuropathy is the commonest cause of foot ulcers. An optimum control of blood glucose to prevent neuropathy and regular feet examination of every person with diabetes may go a long way in preventing foot ulceration.