Prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers and their associated factors in patients from public hospitals in manaus-am.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) as well as associating factors in the city of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil.

METHODS

This was an observational, epidemiological, cross-sectional study, point prevalence, with 229 adults' diabetic inpatients from seven hospitals. Written signed consent was obtained from all participants or their legal representative if they had a cognitive impairment. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through interviews and medical records. Each participant was examined by the research team to evaluate for foot deformity.

RESULTS

Of the 229 patients diagnosed with DM, 60 presented DFU, resulting in a prevalence of 26.2 %. The logistic regression model that included all variables with a significance level of 5 % (p ≤ 0.05) shows: Patients with PAD were more likely to have DFU (OR = 2956; p = 0,01). The use of emollients (OR = 0.097; p < 0.001) and anticoagulants (OR = 0.149; p = 0.002) were related to reduced likelihood for developing DFU.

CONCLUSION

This study contributes to a better understanding of DFU epidemiology in hospitalized patients, as well as the factors associated with them. The results are important for nursing in order to develop early prevention and intervention strategies.