Originally published August 30 2005
Ankle surgery causes problems for diabetics, experts say
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that ankle surgery patients with diabetes suffer from more complications and have higher hospital bills than non-diabetic patients, Medical News Today reports.
In the largest analysis of its kind, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that patients with diabetes who require surgery for ankle fractures have significantly higher rates of complications and higher hospital costs compared to non-diabetic patients.
Additionally, diabetics had higher mortality rates (0.26 percent vs. 0.11 percent) and higher rates of post-operative complications (4.63 percent vs. 3.27 percent).
Demonstrating this link between diabetes and worse outcomes is important, the researchers said, because ankle fractures are one of the most common injuries treated by orthopedic surgeons, and the study's findings provide guidance on how to improve the care for these patients and reduce health care expenditures.
"While a number of smaller studies have indicated that diabetic patients tended to have worse outcomes after ankle surgery, this is the first large-scale analysis of a cross-section of patients across the U.S.," said Shanti Ganesh, M.P.H., lead author of the study and fourth-year year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine.
For their analysis, the Duke team consulted the Nationwide Inpatient Samples (NIS) database and identified 169,598 patients who underwent surgery for ankle fractures.
"The strength of this analysis is that it provides a nationally representative and real-world picture of what happens to ankle fracture patients in the U.S.," said Ricardo Pietrobon, M.D., senior member of the research team and director of Duke's Center for Excellence in Surgical Outcomes (CESO), which supported the analysis.
"Now we have specific data that allows us to quantify the added risks and costs of diabetes for these patients," Pietrobon continued.
Strategies could include close monitoring of glucose levels during and after surgery and the prophylactic use of medications to prevent the formation of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), which can occur in surgery patients who are bedridden for extended periods of time.
This can be important not only during hospitalization, but also after discharge, when patients typically begin rehabilitation activities, she added.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml