Lígia L Cisneros1. 1. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. ligialoiola@ufmg.br
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Neuropathic foot ulcers are among the major health problems faced by patients with diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the preventive efficacy of a therapeutic education and protective footwear program in the incidence and recurrence of neuropathic ulcers due to diabetes. METHODS:Fifty-three patients with diabetes and neuropathy from a public healthcare unit in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, took part in a clinical trial for two years. The participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=23). Therapeutic education was provided in group sessions, and protective footwear was supplied in accordance with individual prescriptions. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to determine differences in incidence and recurrence of ulceration between the groups. Life-table analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to measure the duration of ulcer-free survival. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the ulcer incidence rate was 38.1% compared to 51.1% in the control group. Among the participants who presented ulcers, 83% were in the control group and 16.7% in the intervention group. After one year, the participants in the intervention group had a 75% chance of being ulcer-free, compared with 61% in the control group, and these percentages reduced to 60% and 52% respectively after two years. There was a tendency toward shorter survival among the control group participants. CONCLUSION: Although the proposed program lowered recurrence rates and increased the duration of ulcer-free survival, it was unable to prevent occurrence and recurrence of neuropathic ulcers due to diabetes.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Neuropathic foot ulcers are among the major health problems faced by patients with diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the preventive efficacy of a therapeutic education and protective footwear program in the incidence and recurrence of neuropathic ulcers due to diabetes. METHODS: Fifty-three patients with diabetes and neuropathy from a public healthcare unit in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, took part in a clinical trial for two years. The participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=23). Therapeutic education was provided in group sessions, and protective footwear was supplied in accordance with individual prescriptions. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to determine differences in incidence and recurrence of ulceration between the groups. Life-table analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to measure the duration of ulcer-free survival. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the ulcer incidence rate was 38.1% compared to 51.1% in the control group. Among the participants who presented ulcers, 83% were in the control group and 16.7% in the intervention group. After one year, the participants in the intervention group had a 75% chance of being ulcer-free, compared with 61% in the control group, and these percentages reduced to 60% and 52% respectively after two years. There was a tendency toward shorter survival among the control group participants. CONCLUSION: Although the proposed program lowered recurrence rates and increased the duration of ulcer-free survival, it was unable to prevent occurrence and recurrence of neuropathic ulcers due to diabetes.
Authors: Fay Crawford; Francesca M Chappell; James Lewsey; Richard Riley; Neil Hawkins; Donald Nicolson; Robert Heggie; Marie Smith; Margaret Horne; Aparna Amanna; Angela Martin; Saket Gupta; Karen Gray; David Weller; Julie Brittenden; Graham Leese Journal: Health Technol Assess Date: 2020-11 Impact factor: 4.014
Authors: Fay Crawford; Donald J Nicolson; Aparna E Amanna; Angela Martin; Saket Gupta; Graham P Leese; Robert Heggie; Francesca M Chappell; Heather H McIntosh Journal: Diabetologia Date: 2019-11-27 Impact factor: 10.122