Sociodemographic and clinical characterization of patients with diabetic foot and its complications, in Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia, 2018 - 2020

Abstract

Introduction: diabetic foot is a chronic complication of diabetes that consists of infection, ulceration or destruction of the tissues of the foot, which can lead to amputation of the limb if it is not adequately controlled. Objective: characterize patients with diabetic foot and its associated complications, identifying differences related to sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics with consequent exacerbations. Materials and methods: cross-sectional descriptive observational study that included older patients with clinical diagnosis of diabetes who presented with diabetic foot between 2018 and 2020 at Clínica León XIII and Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia. The source of information was medical records and the data were analyzed in Microsoft Excel, where absolute and relative frequencies were calculated. Results: 39 patients with diabetic foot disease were included, 38.5% were between 61 and 70 years old, 59% were men. Type 2 diabetes was the most prevalent with 92.3%. The time between the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetic foot disease had a median of 8 years; while the time between diagnosis of diabetic foot disease and exacerbation had a median of 4.2 years. 85.7% had recurrence of exacerbations, with superficial ulceration being the most frequent with 23.8%. 57.1% of patients with exacerbations required surgery. Conclusion: Diabetic foot is present in 38.5% of patients between 61 and 70 years, this can present exacerbations up to 85.7% that increase the risk of complications and amputation. For this reason, it is important to impact and constantly assess these patients.