Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug;8(4):255-9.
doi: 10.1177/1938640015585957. Epub 2015 May 8.

Midfoot Charcot Neuroarthropathy in Patients With Diabetes: The Impact of Foot Ulceration on Self-Reported Quality of Life

Katherine M Raspovic  1 , Kimberlee B Hobizal  1 , Bedda L Rosario  1 , Dane K Wukich  2
Affiliations

Midfoot Charcot Neuroarthropathy in Patients With Diabetes: The Impact of Foot Ulceration on Self-Reported Quality of Life

Katherine M Raspovic et al. Foot Ankle Spec. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) and diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) are serious complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) that can result in infection, hospitalization, amputation, and have been shown to negatively affect quality of life (QOL). To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature that have specifically compared QOL in patients with diabetic CN without DFU to a group of patients with diabetic CN and concurrent DFU. The aim of this study was to compare self-reported assessments of QOL in patients with CN to a group of patients with CN and concomitant midfoot ulceration.

Materials and methods: We compared a group of 35 diabetic patients with midfoot CN and no ulcer to a group of 22 diabetic patients with midfoot CN and concurrent DFU. Self-reported outcome was assessed using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) health survey and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM).

Results: No significant differences were found when comparing the 2 groups utilizing the SF-36 and FAAM with the exception that CN patients without foot ulcers had lower mean scores on the Bodily Pain Subscale. Both groups demonstrated negative impact on physical QOL and lower extremity function to a greater degree than mental QOL.

Conclusion: The presence of ulceration does not appear to significantly impact QOL in patients with CN when compared to patients with CN without ulceration.

Levels of evidence: Prognostic, Level III: Case control.

Keywords: Charcot neuroarthropathy; SF-36; diabetic foot ulcer; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ Note

None of the authors declare any conflict of interest. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The project described was supported by the National Institutes of Health through Grant Number UL1TR000005.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Rogers LC, Frykberg RG, Armstrong DG, et al. The Charcot foot in diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011;34:2123–2129. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dhawan V, Spratt KF, Pinzur MS, Baumhauer J, Rudicel S, Saltzman CL. Reliability of AOFAS diabetic foot questionnaire in Charcot arthropathy: stability, internal consistency, and measurable difference. Foot Ankle Int. 2005;26:717–731. - PubMed
    1. Pakarinen TK, Laine HJ, Maenpaa H, Mattila P, Lahtela J. Long-term outcome and quality of life in patients with Charcot foot. Foot Ankle Surg. 2009;15:187–191. - PubMed
    1. Pinzur MS, Evans A. Health-related quality of life in patients with Charcot foot. Am J Orthop. 2003;32:492–496. - PubMed
    1. Raspovic KM, Wukich DK. Self-reported quality of life in patients with diabetes: a comparison of patients with and without Charcot neuroarthropathy. Foot Ankle Int. 2014;35:195–200. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources