Despite the established role of foot care education in diabetes management, reports evaluating such interventions are rare. The effectiveness of an intensive foot care intervention programme and a conventional one were therefore compared in Type 2 diabetes. The intensive group showed significantly greater improvements than the conventional group in foot care knowledge (p less than 0.001), compliance with the recommended foot care routine (p = 0.012), and compliance with the initial advice to consult a podiatrist (other than the project podiatrist) for further treatment (p = 0.008). At the first follow-up visit the intensive group also showed a significantly greater reduction in the number of foot problems requiring treatment than the conventional group.

Unplanned hospital readmission is a high-priority quality measure and target for cost reduction. Patients with diabetes are at higher risk of readmission than patients without diabetes. We previously presented results of a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention designed to reduce readmission risk (the Diabetes Transition of Hospital Care [DiaTOHC] program) with outcomes assessed 30 days after hospital discharge. Here we present secondary outcomes assessed 90 days after discharge. Patients predicted to be high risk (>=27%) for readmission based on a validated readmission risk tool (DERRITM) were randomized 1:1 to the intervention (INT) or usual care (UC). The intervention consisted of inpatient diabetes education, coordination of care, post-discharge support by a nurse practitioner, adjustment of diabetes therapy, and weekly phone calls for 30 days after discharge. There were 45 INT and 46 UC patients randomized and analyzed by intention-to-treat. Twenty-one INT and 23 UC patients had a readmission (46.7% vs. 50%) while 25 INT and 27 UC patients had a readmission or Emergency Department (ED) visit (55.6% vs. 58.7%). The ratio of the mean estimated cost of readmissions, ED visits, and the intervention in the INT group was 0.51 (0.25-1.02)95%CL the cost of readmissions and ED visits in the UC group. Among the 69 patients with an admission A1C >7%, 14 INT and 17 UC patients had a readmission (41.2% vs. 48.6%), and 18 INT and 21 UC patients had a readmission or ED visit (52.9% vs. 60.0%), yielding relative risk reductions of 15.2% and 11.8%. The INT:UC group ratio of the mean estimated cost was 0.50 (0.22-1.12)95%CL. No differences were statistically significant in this pilot study. The DiaTOHC intervention may modestly reduce readmission risk and cut costs by half within 90 days after discharge among patients with an admission A1C >7%. This merits further investigation in a larger RCT. Disclosure D.J. Rubin: None. S. Watts: None. A. Deak: None. C. Vaz: None. S. Tanner: None. D. Recco: None. M. Tivon: None. F.R. Dillard: None. E. Brzana: None. K.E. Joyce: None. A. Karunakaran: None. A. Iwamaye: None. E. Miller: None. C. Mathai: None. N. Kondamuri: None. B.S. Albury: None. S. Allen: None. M.D. Naylor: None. S. Golden: None. J. Wu: None. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K23DK102963)

Objective To compare patients with DKA, hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS), or mixed DKA-HHS and COVID-19 [COVID (+)] to COVID-19-negative (−) [COVID (−)] patients with DKA/HHS from a low-income, racially/ethnically diverse catchment area. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with patients admitted to an urban academic medical center between 1 March and 30 July 2020. Eligible patients met lab criteria for either DKA or HHS. Mixed DKA-HHS was defined as meeting all criteria for either DKA or HHS with at least 1 criterion for the other diagnosis. Results A total of 82 participants were stratified by COVID-19 status and type of hyperglycaemic crisis [26 COVID (+) and 56 COVID (−)]. A majority were either Black or Hispanic. Compared with COVID (−) patients, COVID (+) patients were older, more Hispanic and more likely to have type 2 diabetes (T2D, 73% vs 48%, p < .01). COVID(+) patients had a higher mean pH (7.25 ± 0.10 vs 7.16 ± 0.16, p < .01) and lower anion gap (18.7 ± 5.7 vs 22.7 ± 6.9, p = .01) than COVID (−) patients. COVID (+) patients were given less intravenous fluids in the first 24 h (2.8 ± 1.9 vs 4.2 ± 2.4 L, p = .01) and were more likely to receive glucocorticoids (95% vs. 11%, p < .01). COVID (+) patients may have taken longer to resolve their hyperglycaemic crisis (53.3 ± 64.8 vs 28.8 ± 27.5 h, p = .09) and may have experienced more hypoglycaemia <3.9 mmol/L (35% vs 19%, p = .09). COVID (+) patients had a higher length of hospital stay (LOS, 14.8 ± 14.9 vs 6.5 ± 6.0 days, p = .01) and in-hospital mortality (27% vs 7%, p = .02). Discussion Compared with COVID (−) patients, COVID (+) patients with DKA/HHS are more likely to have T2D. Despite less severe metabolic acidosis, COVID (+) patients may require more time to resolve the hyperglycaemic crisis and experience more hypoglycaemia while suffering greater LOS and risk of mortality. Larger studies are needed to examine whether differences in management between COVID (+) and (−) patients affect outcomes with DKA/HHS.

Hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge (30-day readmission) is a high-priority quality measure and cost target. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and efficacy of the Diabetes Transition of Hospital Care (DiaTOHC) Program on readmission risk in high-risk adults with diabetes. This was a non-blinded pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compared usual care (UC) to DiaTOHC at a safety-net hospital. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day readmission. Between 16 October 2017 and 30 May 2019, 93 patients were randomized. In the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, 14 (31.1%) of 45 DiaTOHC subjects and 15 (32.6%) of 46 UC subjects had a 30-day readmission, while 35.6% DiaTOHC and 39.1% UC subjects had a 30-day readmission or ED visit. The Intervention–UC cost ratio was 0.33 (0.13–0.79) 95%CI. At least 93% of subjects were satisfied with key intervention components. Among the 69 subjects with baseline HbA1c >7.0% (53 mmol/mol), 30-day readmission rates were 23.5% (DiaTOHC) and 31.4% (UC) and composite 30-day readmission/ED visit rates were 26.5% (DiaTOHC) and 40.0% (UC). In this subgroup, the Intervention–UC cost ratio was 0.21 (0.08–0.58) 95%CI. The DiaTOHC Program may be feasible and may decrease combined 30-day readmission/ED visit risk as well as healthcare costs among patients with HbA1c levels >7.0% (53 mmol/mol).