Work

Preventive Measures for Patients at Risk for Amputation From Diabetes and Peripheral Arterial Disease

Year: 2014

Type: letter

Abstract: When patients with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) receive treatment for vascular disease, amputation rates tend to be lower, suggesting that greater utilization of vascular care is associated with lower amputation risk (1). However, procedural care is not provided in isolation. Patients should be engaged in a care system where preventive measures, such as hemoglobin A1c testing, podiatric care, and noninvasive vascular testing are routinely provided (2,3). However, it remains unknown how commonly patients at risk for amputation actually receive preventive measures. Therefore, we studied how commonly patients at risk for amputation actually receive evidence-based preventive measures aimed at limiting amputation. We identified a cohort of 52,505 patients with diabetes and PAD in Medicare claims (2008–2009), who had been admitted to the hospital for an episode of lower …

Source: Diabetes Care

DOI: 10.2337/dc14-0034