Although the prevalence of diabetes has increased over the last two decades, the incidence of diabetic foot infections among hospitalized adults has decreased, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers conducted their retrospective cohort study using ICD-9-CM codes on the U.S. National Hospital Discharge Survey from 1996 through 2010. Incidence was defined as DFI discharges per 100 diabetes discharges.
The study revealed:
1. There were more than 1 million DFI discharges over the study period.
2. The incidence of DFI decreased from 2.3 per 100 diabetes discharges in 1996 to 1.1 per 100 diabetes discharges in 2010. The proportion of patients experiencing lower-extremity amputation also declined during the study period, from 33.2 percent to 17.1 percent.
3. The leading risk factors for DFI among the cohort studied included peripheral vascular disease, peripheral neuropathy and being male.
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