Original article
English
Abdulbasit Shallwi, Mohammed Al-Gabsy
Department of Surgery, Al Wahda Hospital, Derna Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al Mokhtar University, Derna, Libya.
JMJ Vol.8, No.2 (Summer) 2008:118-121
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the validity of a new scoring system in predicting the outcome of diabetic foot ulcers. The scoring system (DEPA score) includes the depth of the ulcer, the extent of bacterial colonization, the phase of ulcer healing and the associated underlying aetiology. The scoring system was validated against the clinical outcome in terms of healing and lower limb amputations. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients (40 males and 20 females) were included in this study, attending the outpatient clinic in Al Wahda Hospital, Derna, Libya from first of September, 2005 to 31 March, 2006. Results: Eleven patients, representing 18.3% had a DEPA score of 6 or less, 23 patients, representing 38.4% had a DEPA score of 7 to 9, and 26 patients, representing 43.3% had a DEPA score of 10 to 12. Using the Spearman nonparametric correlation test, DEPA scoring system was accurate in predicting the outcome of management (correlation coefficient 0.86; P < 0.001) at a mean follow up of 20 weeks. All patients with DEPA scores 6 had excellent healing, whereas only 67% of those with a score of 7-9 had good complete healing in less than 20 weeks. All patients with DEPA scores 10-12 had poor healing or amputation. Conclusion: an increasing DEPA score is associated with increased risk of amputation and poor healing. Furthermore, inclusion of the phase of ulcer healing into the DEPA system increases the accuracy of predicting the outcome of diabetic foot ulcers. Keywords: Diabetes, Scoring system, Healing, Foot ulcer, DEPA Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1469