Foot ulcers among diabetic patients visiting surgery department in a university teaching hospital in Ajman, UAE

Diabetes is a very common lifestyle-related metabolic disease in UAE. UAE has the second highest prevalence of diabetes worldwide. Foot problems are one of the commonest reasons for hospital admission among diabetics. The major risk factors for foot disease are peripheral neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, poor vision and foot deformities. Development of foot ulceration is preventable. To assess the frequency of foot ulcers among diabetic patients visiting the surgery department in a university teaching hospital in Ajman, UAE especially in relation to gender, nationality and age. This hospital-based retrospective record analysis was conducted for patients with diabetes mellitus visiting department of surgery for a period of 8 years from 2002 to 2010. Among the diabetic patients recruited for this study, 75% were males and 25% were females. Among these diabetic patients, 76.3% of male patients were diagnosed with foot ulcers as opposed to 23.8% of female patients. It was witnessed that majority of diabetic patients were from Asia [53.1%] and Middle East [33.8%] whereas African [12.3%] and European [0.8%] patients made up a minority. Diabetic foot ulcers were reported more in Asian patients [57%] compared to patients from Middle East [29.1%]. The age of majority of the diabetic patients in this study was the range of 30 to 70 years and diabetic foot ulcers were most prevalent in the age group 50 to 59 years [42.5%] and least prevalent in the age group 20 to 29 years [5%]. Asian middle-aged male diabetics are most likely to have foot complications. It is important to educate all diabetic patients about the importance of self-examination of both feet, and physicians should routinely examine the feet of all diabetic patients, which would go a long way in preventing development of foot ulcers

Lipid profile of patients with and without diabetic foot ulcers

To compare the lipid profile of patients with and without diabetic foot ulcers visiting surgery department in a university teaching hospital in Ajman, UAE. This hospital-based retrospective record analysis was conducted for patients with diabetes mellitus with or without foot ulcers visiting department of surgery during a period of eight years, from 2002 to 2010. Lipid parameters included were total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, VLDL. Among the diabetic patients recruited for this study, 75% were males and 25% were females. The mean HDL value for diabetic patients with foot ulcers was 37.3 +/- 8.3 whereas that for the non-foot ulcer patients was 31.3 +/- 7.9. The difference observed was statistically significant [p<0.05]. The mean value for the total cholesterol level was in the safe range for both non-foot ulcer and foot ulcer patients as they were both under 200. The mean total cholesterol was higher for diabetic patients with foot ulcer. Similar patterns can be seen for the LDL and VLDL with mean values for non-foot ulcer group being 102.1 and 35.5 and for foot ulcer group being 103.3 and 48.2 respectively, revealing that the mean is higher for diabetic patients with foot ulcer. The mean values for triglycerides were 207.4 and 186.1 for non-foot ulcers and foot ulcer patients respectively, which does not follow the pattern like the other values but this may be due to diet control. The mean values of all lipids except triglycerides were higher for the diabetic patients with foot ulcer group than those without but the only value which was statistically significant was HDL levels. This could be attributed to inability to adhere to an exercise regime due to the presence of foot ulcers. The differences observed in levels of total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL and triglycerides between the two groups were not significant