Epidemiological factors associated with the evolution of the diabetic foot

Resumen

Diabetic foot ulcers are advanced chronic vascular lesions with tissue deterioration and with unfavorable prognosis; these ulcers predict the risk of amputation in 90% of cases. This research aims to establish an association between the epidemiological factors and the evolution of the diabetic foot. For this, in this paper, we present an analytical, transversal, prospective study. Our sample consisted of 95 outpatients and hospitalized men and women diabetic patients, who attended Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga in Cuenca, Ecuador, over the time frame encompassing December 2017 to September 2018. For each patient, we interviewed them with epidemiological data, and a physical examination of the feet was done to assess the Wagner scale degrees. Results revealed that 93% of individuals had some degree of injury to their feet. Out of the examined individuals, 61% were males, 41% have completed elementary school, and 63% lived in urban areas. The average age was of 69 years, the average diagnostic time of the disease was 14 years, and the patients had a BMI (Body Mass Index) average of 26. A significant correlation was observed between the Wagner´s scale classification and the diagnosed time of the disease with a Chi-square of 47.02 and a p-value of 0.025 in the analysis of variance (ANOVA). It is concluded that the diabetic foot can appear at any age and in patients of both sexes. It is conditioned by factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, poor eating habits and lack of sanitary hygiene.