Lower Extremity Necrotizing Fasciitis in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Patients: Mortality and Amputation.

Lower extremity necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a severe infection requiring immediate surgery. The aim of this study was to assess patient factors predictive of amputation and mortality in diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-DM patients with lower extremity NF. The American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database was reviewed retrospectively. Out of 674 patients with lower extremity NF, 387 had DM (57.4%). Patients with DM had lower mortality (P = .004). Increased mortality was independently associated with age >60 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69-9.77), partial thromboplastin time >38 seconds (aOR = 2.66, 95% CI = 1.09-6.62), albumin <2.0 mg/dL (aOR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.13-7.37), coagulopathy (aOR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.24-9.19), higher anesthesia risk category (aOR = 3.08, 95% CI = 1.18, 8.59), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aOR = 3.46, 95% CI = 1.13-10.9), postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome (aOR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.04-14.4), and postoperative septic shock (aOR = 5.14, 95% CI = 1.94-14.1). Amputation was independently associated with DM (aOR = 4.35, 95% CI = 2.63-7.35) but not mortality. Although DM was associated with more amputations for lower extremity NF, patients with DM had lower mortality than non-DM patients in the bivariate analysis. Further research is needed to investigate outcomes among DM and non-DM patients in the context of lower extremity NF.