Effectiveness of fast-track pathway for diabetic foot ulcerations.

AIM: To investigate the effectiveness of fast-track pathway (FTP) in the management of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) after 2 years of implementation. METHODS: The study group was composed of patients who referred to a specialized DF centre due to DFUs. Those were divided in two groups: early referral (ER) and late referral (LR) patients. According to FTP, ER were considered patients who referred after 2 weeks in the case of uncomplicated non-healing ulcers (superficial, not infected, not ischemic), within 4 days in the case of complicated ulcers (ischemic, deep, mild infection) and within 24 h in the case of severely complicated ulcers (abscess, wet gangrene, fever). Healing, healing time, minor and major amputation, hospitalization, and survival were evaluated. The follow-up was 6 months. RESULTS: Two hundred patients were recruited. The mean age was 70 ± 13 years, 62.5% were male, 91% were affected by type 2 diabetes with a mean duration of 18 ± 11 years. Within the group, 79.5% had ER while 20.5% had LR. ER patients showed increased rates of healing (89.9 vs. 41.5%, p = 0.001), reduced healing time (10 vs. 16 weeks, p = 0.0002), lower rates of minor (17.6 vs. 75.6%, p < 0.0001) and major amputation (0.6 vs. 36.6%, p < 0.0001), hospitalization (47.1 vs. 82.9%, p = 0.001), and mortality (4.4 vs. 19.5%, p = 0.02) in comparison to LR. At multivariate analysis, ER was an independent predictor of healing, while LR was an independent predictor for minor and major amputation and hospitalization. CONCLUSION: After the FTP implementation, less cases of LR were reported in comparison to ER. ER was an independent predictor of positive outcomes such as healing, healing time, limb salvage, hospitalization, and survival.

Autologous bone marrow cell transplantation increases leg perfusion and reduces amputations in patients with advanced critical limb ischemia due to peripheral artery disease.

Bone marrow cell transplantation has been shown to induce angiogenesis and thus improve ischemic artery disease. This study evaluates the effects of intramuscular bone marrow cell transplantation in patients with limb-threatening critical limb ischemia with a very high risk for major amputation. After failed or impossible operative and/or interventional revascularization and after unsuccessful maximum conservative therapy, 51 patients with impending major amputation due to severe critical limb ischemia had autologous bone marrow cells (BMC) transplanted into the ischemic leg. Patients 1-12 received Ficoll-isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells (total cell number 1.1 +/- 1.1 x 10(9)), patients 13-51 received point of care isolated bone marrow total nucleated cells (3.0 +/- 1.7 x 10(9)). Limb salvage was 59% at 6 months and 53% at last follow-up (mean 411 +/- 261 days, range 175-1186). Perfusion measured with ankle-brachial index (ABI) and transcutaneous oxygen tension (tcpO(2)) at baseline and after 6 months increased in patients with consecutive limb salvage (ABI 0.33 +/- 0.18 to 0.46 +/- 0.15, tcpO(2) 12 +/- 12 to 25 +/- 15 mmHg) and did not change in patients eventually undergoing major amputation. No difference in clinical outcome between the isolation methods were seen. Clinically most important, patients with limb salvage improved from a mean Rutherford category of 4.9 at baseline to 3.3 at 6 months (p = 0.0001). Analgesics consumption was reduced by 62%. Total walking distance improved in nonamputees from zero to 40 m. Three severe periprocedural adverse events resolved without sequelae, and no unexpected long-term adverse events occurred. In no-option patients with end-stage critical limb ischemia due to peripheral artery disease, bone marrow cell transplantation is a safe procedure that can improve leg perfusion sufficiently to reduce major amputations and permit durable limb salvage.