SAN DIEGO – As quality measures in health care continue to grow in importance, it behooves endocrinologists to pay more attention to the mental as well as physical well-being of patients with diabetic foot conditions before and after treatment.
“We’re on a path from volume-based practice to really showing that what we’re doing actually works, and diabetic foot is going to be caught up in there. It’s really important that we understand how [the diabetic foot] is affecting our patients physically and mentally. We’ll have to measure what we do and see it if improves,” said Dane K. Wukich, MD, professor and Dr. Charles F. Gregory distinguished chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, in a presentation at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association.
Courtesy Dr. Dane K. Wukich
Dr. Dane K. Wukich
Foot amputations are becoming less common but remain a dreaded complication of diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that hospital discharges for lower-extremity amputation among people with diabetes declined dramatically – by as much as 50% or more depending on the type – from 2003 to 2009. Still, in 2009, the levels were 1.8 cases per 1,000 patients for toe amputation, 0.5 cases per 1,000 patients for foot amputation, and 0.9 and 0.4 cases per 1,000 for below- and above-knee amputation, respectively.
The commonly used 36-Item Short Form Quality of Life Survey (SF-36 QOL) may offer useful insight into quality of life in diabetic foot patients after treatment, but it is not precise enough to gauge patients’ mental health issues.
Patient-reported outcomes will become more important in diabetic foot treatments, Dr. Wukich said, “but sometimes a successful outcome in what we do does not always equate to an improvement in quality of life.”
For example, he said, it’s true that patients with diabetic foot disease fear losing their legs more than death. He led a study published earlier this year that found patients with diabetic foot conditions were 79% more likely to say amputation is their greatest fear, topping even death (odds ratio, 1.79; 96% confidence interval, 1.13-2.81; P = .01 [Foot Ankle Spec. 2017 Feb 1]).
But “saving a foot that’s not in a good position” can be devastating for a patient, even worse than amputation, he said.
Quality of life measurements will provide insight for doctors and insurers as they track the success of diabetic foot treatments. But Dr. Wukich said there’s a big mystery about one aspect of quality of life (QOL) measurements: Why don’t diabetic foot problems significantly disrupt the mental component of quality of life measures?
He coauthored a 2014 study – of 50 patients with diabetes and Charcot foot and 56 patients with diabetes only – that found a significant gap in physical QOL measures (P less than .001) but nearly identical measures in mental QOL (P less than .644) (Foot Ankle Int. 2014;35[3]195-200).
He asked: “How could somebody have a Charcot problem with a deformed foot, walking around in a boot for years and not have it affect their mental quality of life?”
One possibility is that neuropathy reduces the mental burden of pain because it hurts less, he suggested. But the answer could lie in the strategies used in calculating scores commonly used in the SF-36 QOL tool, he said. Recent unpublished research suggests that the orthogonal calculation may artificially increase mental QOL scores in these cases, he said. The oblique method may be more accurate, he said, but more study is needed.
In the big picture, he said, “assessing quality of life can help us establish the optimal methods of treatment, evaluate treatment outcomes, and identify patients at risk of mortality, admission, and depression. It’s going to guide us in the pay-for-performance arena.”
During the meeting, Dr. Wukich was presented with the American Diabetes Associations 2017 Roger Pecoraro Award, which recognizes a researcher “who has made significant scientific contributions and demonstrates an untiring commitment to improving the understanding of the detection, treatment, and prevention of diabetic foot complications.”
Dr. Wukich reported that he has no relevant financial disclosures.