Evaluation of a comprehensive diabetic foot ulcer care quality model.

Diabetes-related amputations are typically preceded by a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) but models to assess the quality of care are lacking. We investigated a model to measure inpatient and outpatient quality. Cohort study among adults hospitalized with a DFU to a safety-net hospital during 2016. We measured adherence to DFU-related quality metrics based on guidelines during and 12 months following hospitalization. Inpatient metrics included ankle-brachial index measurement during or 6 months prior to hospitalization, receiving diabetes education and a wound offloading device prior to discharge. Outpatient metrics included wound care ≤30 days of discharge, in addition to hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≤8%, tobacco cessation, and retention in care (≥2 clinic visits ≥90 days apart) 12 months following discharge. 323 patients were included. Regarding inpatient metrics, 8% had an ankle brachial index measurement, 37% received diabetes education, and 20% received offloading prior to discharge. Regarding outpatient metrics, 33% received wound care ≤30 days of discharge. Twelve months following discharge, 34% achieved a HbA1c ≤8%, 13% quit tobacco, and 52% were retained in care. Twelve-month amputation-free survival was 71%. Our model demonstrated large gaps in DFU guideline-adherent care. Implementing measures to close these gaps could prevent amputations.

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Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest Guillermo Umpierrez has received research grant support to Emory University for investigator-initiated studies from Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and Dexcom. All other authors report no conflict of interest.