Bacteriological Profile of Diabetic Foot Infections and Its Effects on Limb Salvation

Abstract

Objective: To assess the bacteriological profile of infected diabetic foot and its relationship with limb salvation among the patients treated for diabetic foot infection at a tertiary setup.Study Design: Correlational study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Dec 2018 to Mar 2019.
 Methodology: A total of 160 cases of infected diabetic foot were included in the study. Diagnosis of diabetic foot was made by the consultant surgeon and bacteriological analysis was done on the specimen by the microbiology laboratory of the same hospital. Relationship of bacteriological profile and other socio-demographic factors was assessed with limb salvation in these patients.
 Results: There were 121 (75.6%) male patients while females were 39 (24.4%). Commonest organism found was Staphylococcus aureus 49 (30.6%) which was followed by pseudomonas 39 (24.4%). Out of 160 patients treated for the diabetic foot infection, 71 (48.4%) had to undergo the process of limb salvation while 89 (51.6%) were managed conservatively. Poly-microbial infection and raised body mass index (BMI) were significantly associated with limb salvation in the target populace (p-value <0.05).
 Conclusion: This study depicted high frequency of patients undergoing limb salvation due to diabetic foot infections in our setup. Patients with raised body mass index and those with poly-microbial infection on the culture should be specially attended in order to avoid this irreversible damage to the patient in the process of saving his life from the infective process.