Retrospective study of hospitalized patients with chronic leg ulcers in Hawaii.

The authors describe 226 patients with chronic leg ulcers at a community hospital over a 14-year period. Most leg ulcers were ischemic or venous in origin and located below the ankle. Fifty-five percent of patients were diabetic and the majority of patients were hypertensive. The cases required prolonged hospitalization for systemic antibiotics and vascular surgery. Only 2.3% of patients required above the knee amputation, and 7% needed below-the-knee amputation.