ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological characteristics and predisposing causes of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in the hospitalized patients with diabetic foot disease (DFD).MethodsThe clinical data of patients with DFD admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2018 were collected through the electronic medical record system. The demographic characteristics, blood glucose control status, and the predisposing causes of DFU were analyzed.ResultsA total of 1 022 DFD inpatients with an average age of (65.5±11.9) years old were included in this study, including 679 males and 343 females; 59.4% (513/864) of the patients had a college degree or above, but the patients with more severe DFD had lower educational level (χ2trend=19.554, P<0.001). The average time from diagnosis of diabetes mellitus to occurrence of DFD was (10.6±7.1) years, and 42.4% (433/1 022) of the patients had diabetes for over 10 years. Among the patients, 82.3% (841/1 022) treated diabetes irregularly, 56.2% (555/987) never monitored blood glucose, 51.2% (523/1 022) had a history of foot ulcers, and 8.6% (88/1 022) had a history of lower extremity or toe amputation. The average fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c were (8.6±3.8) mmol/L and (8.2±2.1)%, respectively. There were 52.2% (525/1 006) and 94.4% (958/1 015) of the DFD patients companied with peripheral arterial disease and neuropathy, respectively. DFUs were mainly single (52.7%, 447/849) and neuro-ischemic ulcers (53.0%, 389/734). The main predisposing causes were physical causes (21.6%, 180/834) and trauma (19.2%, 160/834).ConclusionsThe patients with DFD have the characteristics of old age, long course of diabetes, irregular treatment of diabetes and poor control of blood glucose, combined with neurovascular diseases, and high recurrence rate of foot ulcer. Therefore, diabetes education, early screening of foot risk factors, and early intervention should be strengthened to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of DFU.
Objective To investigate the association between costs of hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus and their complications in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, so as to provide baseline data for further research. Methods We extracted the hospitalization case data of hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus who were discharged from the department of endocrinology and metabolism, or discharged after being transferred to other departments for treatment from January 2011 to December 2012, using the hospital information system (HIS) of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The data included baseline of hospital patients, discharge diagnosis, hospitalization costs, and if their medical insurance had been registered in hospital. Then, we classified the diseases according to ICD-10 based on discharge diagnosis, coped the data using Excel 2010 software, and conducted statistical analysis using SPSS 13.0. Results a) In 2011, acute and chronic diabetes complication in diabetes inpatients were 11.9% (166/1 396) and 67.1% (930/1 396), respectively. Most of them had peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease. b) The most frequently-occurred complications were hypertension, followed by dyslipidemia, and osteoporosis. c) The median hospital stay was 13 days (7 to 9 days), and the median total cost of hospital/person-time was 6 578.88 yuan (4 186.93 to 10 953.89 yuan). d) The total cost and duration of hospitalization increased along with the increasing number of the chronic complications of diabetes. e) The diabetic foot patients were 255 person-times, the median duration of hospitalization was 18 days (13 to 29 days), and the median total cost of hospital/person-time was 16 672.19 yuan (10 903.93 to 28 530.37 yuan). Diabetes patients with foot complication had higher total costs and longer duration of hospitalization than those without foot complication. Conclusion Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important diseases in the department of endocrinology and metabolism, which is heavy disease burden. The costs of hospitalization and chronic complications are closely associated. Among these complications, diabetic foot is the heaviest disease burden.