Prevention of Surgical Site Infection After Ankle Surgery Using Vacuum-Assisted Closure Therapy in High-Risk Patients With Diabetes

Medial arterial calcification (MAC) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. The association between vascular calcifications and poor outcome in several vascular districts suggest that infrapopliteal MAC could be a risk factor for lower-limb amputation (LLA). This study’s objective is to review the available literature focusing on the association between infrapopliteal MAC and LLA in high-risk patients. The PubMed and Embase databases were systematically searched. We selected original studies reporting the association between infrapopliteal MAC and LLAs in patients with diabetes and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD). Estimates were pooled using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the Q and I2 statistics. Publication bias was investigated with a funnel plot and Egger test. The trim-and-fill method was designed to estimate the possibly missing studies. Influence analysis was conducted to search studies influencing the final result. Test of moderators was used to compare estimates in good versus non-good-quality studies. Fifteen articles satisfied the selection criteria ( n = 6489; median follow-up: 36 months). MAC was significantly associated with LLAs (pooled adjusted risk ratio (RR): 2.27; 95% CI: 1.89–2.74; I2 = 25.3%, Q-test: p = 0.17). This association was kept in the subgroup of patients with diabetes (RR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.76–3.20) and patients with PAD (RR: 2.48; 95% CI: 1.72–3.58). The association was maintained if considering as outcome only major amputations (RR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.46–3.06). Our results show that infrapopliteal MAC is associated with LLAs, thus suggesting MAC as a possible new marker of the at-risk limb.

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Cardiovascular risk assessment in diabetes and pre-diabetes

ESC CardioMed ◽

10.1093/med/9780198784906.003.0216 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 923-924

Author(s):

Nikolaus Marx

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

High Risk ◽

Target Organ Damage ◽

Risk Scores ◽

High Risk Patients ◽

Patients With Diabetes ◽

Risk Patients ◽

Artery Disease ◽

Very High

Patients with diabetes exhibit an increased propensity to develop cardiovascular disease with an increased mortality. Early risk assessment, especially for coronary artery disease, is important to initiate therapeutic strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk. This chapter reviews the current literature on risk scores in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and summarizes the role of risk assessment based on biomarkers and different imaging strategies. Current guidelines recommend that patients with diabetes are characterized as high-risk or very high-risk patients. In the presence of target organ damage or other risk factors such as smoking, marked hypercholesterolaemia, or hypertension, patients with diabetes are classified as very high-risk patients while most other people with diabetes are categorized as high-risk patients.

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