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Metatarsal protrusion influences risk of reulceration after surgical resection

By Emily Delzell

First metatarsal (M1) length after metatarsal head resection influences reulceration risk, according to researchers at Complutense University of Madrid.

Investigators followed 91 patients with diabetes for 12 months after resection of at least one metatarsal head to predict probability of postsurgical reulceration.

They measured postsurgical differences in length (protrusion) between the M1 and the longest lesser metatarsal, dividing patients into two groups: those in whom the M1 was longest (group one, 43 patients) and those in whom a lesser metatarsal was longest (group two, 48 patients). In group one, patients with the longest M1s had the highest probability of reulceration at 12 months, while those in group two with the shortest M1s had the highest probability for reulceration. The optimal protrusion cutoff for group one was 11 mm (sen­sitivity = 84.6%, specificity = 86.7%). In group two, it was -7 mm (sensitivity = 81.8%, specificity = 65.4%).

The results were epublished December 18 in the International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds.

Source:

Molines-Barroso RJ, Lázaro-Martínez JL, Aragón-Sánchez J, et al. The influence of the length of the first metatarsal on the risk of reulceration in the feet of patients with diabetes. Int J Low Extrem Wounds 2013 Dec 18. [Epub ahead of print.]

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