Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU) are a serious complication of diabetes and often lead to hospitalizations. This study sought to assess the incidence, risk factors and length of stay for hospitalizations, with and without amputations. Among 4709 people with DFU in Queensland (median age, 63 years, 3275 men, type 2 diabetes, DFU-related hospitalizations were recorded for 977 people : 669 without amputations (68.5%), 258 with minor amputations (26.4%), and 50 with major amputations (5.1%). The incidence of first DFU-related hospitalizations was 50.8 per 100 person-years lived with DFU before healing, death, or loss to follow-up. The incidence of first DFU-related hospitalization with no amputation was 39.0 with minor amputation, 18.0 and with major amputation 5.3 per 100 person-years with DFU. The median length of stay for DFU-related hospitalizations was 6 days with no amputations, 10 days with minor amputations, and 19 days with major amputations. The incidence of DFU-related hospitalizations among people with DFU was high, and most did not involve amputations. These findings could assist services to determine which people with DFU would benefit most from intensive interventions, potentially averting large numbers of diabetes-related hospitalizations.
Source: Zhang Y, Cramb SM, McPhail SM, et al. The incidence of and risk factors for hospitalisations and amputations for people with diabetes-related foot ulcers in Queensland, 2011-19: an observational cohort study. Med J Aust. 2025 4;223(3):149-158. doi: 10.5694/mja2.52703.
