Wound infections and recovery time among patients with diabetic foot ulcer living in multiethnic Suriname, a developing country: a retrospective cohort study among patients from the One Stop Shop for chronic diseases Paramaribo

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to describe patient characteristics and clinical outcome among patients with diabetic foot ulcers under treatment of a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic in multiethnic Suriname, a developing country in South America. Retrospectively, all diabetes patients (>  18 years) with foot ulcers starting their treatment at the outpatient clinic between November 2013 and October 2014 were included and followed for at least 12 weeks. To assess differences in clinical outcome between subgroups, chi-square and incorporating time-related data, the log-rank test we re used. One hundred patients were included (lost to follow-up,n = 20). Half of patients were males (n = 40). Mean age was 57.8 years. Nephropathy, peripheral arterial disease, and neuropathy were present in 90.9, 41.7, and 90.3%, respectively. Thirty-five percent of wounds healed within 12 weeks (median at 50 days, 13 visits). Sixty-eight percent of wounds were infected. No major but four mi nor amputations were carried out. Looking at subgroups, infection and ethnicity (African vs. Asian descent), but not gender or age, increased risk for delayed healing (p <  0.001 andp = 0.049, log-rank test). It seems of high priority to increase awareness and search for accurate preventive strategies for diabetic foot, and related wounds and infections, with special attention for ethnic disparities, in Suriname.
Source: International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research