122 In Patients with Lower Extremity Burns and Osteomyelitis, Diabetes Mellitus Increases Amputation Rate
Abstract Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a critical comorbidity with burn injury due to the disrupted healing process. Previous reports have confirmed the increased rate of osteomyelitis (OM) and subsequent amputation in this cohort, however this has yet to be studied in comparison to non-diabetic patients. In this retrospective analysis, we investigate OM and amputation in both the diabetic and non-diabetic lower extremity burn populations to determine the impact of DM on these outcomes. Methods The burn registry was used to identify all patients admitted to our tertiary burn center from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2018. Only patients with lower extremity burns (foot and/or ankle) were included. Patients with burns to additional body areas were excluded. Amputations were categorized by time from injury. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t test, chi-squared test, and Fischer’s exact test. Results Of the 315 patients identified, 103 had a known diagnosis of DM and 212 did not. Scald injury was the most common mechanism and average TBSA was similar. Differences were observed in average length of stay (LOS) and admission cost, with diabetics demonstrating both a higher LOS (13.7 days vs 9.2 days, p-value= 0.0016) and cost ($72,883 vs $50,500, p-value= 0.0058) (Table 1). In total, 17 patients were found to have radiologically confirmed OM within three months of the burn injury. Fifteen of these patients had a history of DM and two had no history of DM (p-value= < 0.001) (Table 2). The DM OM patients were found to have a higher blood glucose level on admission (219 mg/dL vs 110 mg/dL, p-value= 0.0452). No significant difference was seen in Hgb A1c in diabetics with or without OM (9.26% vs 8.81%, p= 0.2743). Notably, when non-diabetics were diagnosed with OM, significant differences were observed in both LOS and cost in comparison to their counterparts without OM (36 days vs 9 days; p= 0.0003; $226,289 vs $48,818, p=0.0001). Of the 11 patients who required an amputation, 10 (90.9%) of these patients had comorbid DM. Conclusions DM patients with lower extremity burns are more likely to develop OM than their non-diabetic counterparts. When radiologically confirmed OM is present, DM patients have an increased rate of amputation. OM incurs significant healthcare utilization and cost in both the diabetic and non-diabetic populations.