1.Diabetic foot infection and surgical treatment in a secondary health care centre in Malaysia
Ng Bing Wu ; Muhammad Firdaus bin Ahmad ; Mohd Syafiqq Al Hakim Haniff Ravintharan ; Nur Sa&rsquo ; idah binti Mohd Saidfudin ; Loi Kai Weng ; Ong Kean Chao ; Abdul Muttalib bin Abdul Wahid
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(1):29-32
Introduction: Diabetic foot infection is often associated with
high morbidity, disability and poor quality of life. This study
focuses on the demography, the number of repetitive
surgery and length of stay in hospital of patients with
diabetic foot infection.
Method: This is a retrospective observational study. Patients
who were admitted to the Orthopaedic ward of Hospital
Segamat (HS), Johor, Malaysia from January 2016 to
December 2018 and required surgical intervention were
included in the study. Data was collected from the computer
system of HS and medical notes of patients.
Results: 35.6% of the total orthopaedic emergency surgeries
performed were for patients with diabetic foot infection, 25%
of the surgical procedures performed were major
amputations of lower limb and 40% of the patients with
diabetic foot infection required more than one surgical
operation.
Discussion: The demographics of the patients is consistent
with the demographics of Malaysia where majority of them
are Malays followed by Chinese, Indians and others. Despite
being only 10% of total admission to the department, this
group of patients contributed to 35.6% of the total
emergency surgeries performed. The amputation rate in the
centre is comparable to the other local studies. The average
length of stay in hospital was found to be shorter compared
to overseas due to different rehabilitation protocols.