CT Scan of the Foot in Patients with Chronic Non-Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease where there is an increased blood sugar level in the body which is either caused due to inability of the pancreas to secrete insulin or the body’s inability to utilize it. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is growing rapidly worldwide. Statistics show that in the year 2014, there were a total of 422 million cases of DM. Diabetes mellitus is a major cause of heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness and leg amputations. Diabetic foot ulcers are quite common and are estimated to affect nearly 15% of all diabetic patients during their lifetime. In long standing diabetic patients with chronic non-healing ulcers, bony changes or deformities are not uncommon. These bony changes can be identified using CT scans. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted on a total of 40 patients with chronic non-healing ulcer attending the surgery outpatient department of Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, Tamilnadu. The CT-scans of their foot were observed for deformities or bony changes. Results: Out of 40 patients, 67.5% were males and 32.5% were females. A maximum number of subjects fell under the age group of 51 - 60 years. The most common site of the ulcer was found to be in the plantar surface of big toe (53%). Among the 40 patients, 33 of them were found to have bony abnormalities on the CT scan of foot and no apparent changes were seen in the rest. Bone erosions (35%), osteopenic changes (22.5%), Charcot’s joint (2.5%), osteophyte formation (12.5) and reduced joint space (10%) were the predominant changes observed on the CT scans of the study population.