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Query: UMLS:C0011849 (diabetes)
 277,896 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Forty-seven elderly patients (21 males and 26 females) with lower limb amputation, and with prostheses fitted were studied. Their ages ranged from 65 years to 91 years old, with an average of 75.4 years. The three most common contributory causes for amputation were diabetes mellitus, vascular occlusion and carcinoma of the skin. Among the lower limb amputations, below knee amputation was the most common (93.6%). About 30% of the patients developed complications from prostheses, the 3 most common in order of frequency were stump pain, pressure ulcers and stump infection. Male patients tended to do better with prostheses than female patients. More male patients wanted prostheses for mobility, while most female patients cited cosmesis as the reason for wanting a prosthetic leg. More male patients used the prostheses more frequently and this was associated with a higher level of function in terms of self care and mobility. Reasons for non-usage of prosthesis were poor-fitting sockets, floppy stump, stump ulcers and infection. Carers of male amputees tended to cope better than those caring for female amputees. Both the present age of patient, and the age at amputation were found not to be a factor in deciding the frequency of usage of prosthesis, and the outcome of success in rehabilitation of the amputee. Psychological factors played an important role in the outcome of rehabilitation. Eighty-five percent of patients who functioned at a lower level despite a relative lack of serious medical condition cited psychological reasons for their poor performance, among which were age and the 'expected' loss of mobility with amputation.
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PMID:Use of lower limb prosthesis among elderly amputees. 213 Jul 43

Patients suffering from vascular disease are often a challenge for the acute pain service. Ischaemia, impaired wound healing, stump and phantom limb pain often require a complex analgesic regimen. Invasive measures such as spinal or epidural catheters can be very helpful but carry the risk of infection, as shown by this case report. A 53-year-old woman with a ten-year history of diabetes developed arterial vascular disease. Her right lower leg had been amputated two years previously. She was now admitted with necroses of the left forefoot. A bypass operation was performed under general anaesthesia. Because of intractable ischaemic pain, she was provided with an epidural catheter by the acute pain service. The bypass occluded, however, and a few days later her left lower leg also had to be amputated, this operation being performed under epidural anaesthesia with bupivacaine. The catheter was subsequently used for postoperative pain control and as a means to prevent phantom limb pain. When signs of superficial catheter infection were noticed days later, the catheter was immediately removed. Intractable pain then developed in the left leg which could not be sufficiently controlled with opioids and NSAIDs, and so a second epidural catheter was inserted one segment rostrally. Several days later the infected vascular prosthesis had to be removed followed by amputation of the thigh, this operation also being performed in epidural anaesthesia. Eleven days after insertion of the first epidural catheter, the patient complained of low back pain and headache. Examination by a neurologist revealed no signs of intraspinal infection. The second epidural catheter dislocated at this point in time and it was decided to introduce a third one, this being the only means to treat the otherwise intractable stump pain. Ten days later meningism, Kernig's sign and leucocytosis developed. NMR tomography detected intraspinal fluid in the epidural space at the dorsal border of the spinal canal. A hemilaminectomy was performed. The spinal epidural space showed signs of inflammation of the adipose tissue, but no pus. A little necrotic material and residues of an old haematoma were removed and the epidural space was lavaged. Specimens taken from the epidural material revealed colonisation with staphylococcus epidermidis, which was sensitive to the broad spectrum antibiotics formerly given to the patient to treat the infection in the left stump. By the next day, all signs of epiduritis had disappeared and the patient recovered completely.
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PMID:[Epiduritis after long-term pain therapy with an epidural catheter--review of the literature with a current case report]. 932 67

The effect of failed vascular bypass surgery on final amputation level and stump complications is the subject of debate. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to assess the influence of previous infrainguinal bypass surgery on amputees in the authors' centre. Over a three-year period, 234 amputations (219 patients) were performed for critical ischemia. The cause of ischemia was either peripheral obstructive arterial disease (POAD) or diabetes mellitus (DM). Forty-eight percent (48%) (113 amputations) had ipsilateral vascular bypass surgery prior to amputation and 52% (121 amputations) had not. Final amputation level and the post-operative complications of infection, significant stump pain and delayed wound healing were used as the outcome measures for this study. At the end of the study period these outcome measures were used to compare the influence of previous bypass surgery on the two groups of amputees. There was a significantly higher rate of transfemoral amputations (TFA) (32.7%) vs. 16.5%; p < 0.05) and stump infection rate (42% vs. 23%; p < 0.05) in the bypass group. Significant stump pain (p = 0.23) and delayed wound healing (p = 0.24) was more prevalent in the bypass group although statistical significance could not be demonstrated.
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PMID:Major lower limb amputation following failed infrainguinal vascular bypass surgery: a prospective study on amputation levels and stump complications. 1141 Oct 2