[The fate of patients with diabetes mellitus after amputation of a lower limb as a consequence of gangrene].

The aim of study was to analyse factors that modified the survival time of 125 patients with diabetes mellitus and 121 patients with normal tolerance glucose to whom amputations of a lower limb in consequence of gangrene were performed. The prospective study were started on 5th January 1989 and finished 31st December 1993. Among the examined patients with NIDDM were 66 men in the age from 53 to 88 years (mean age 66.8 +/- 8.5 (+/-SD) years) and 48 women in the age from 58 to 91 years (mean age 71.8 +/- 9.1 years). Among the examined patients with IDDM were 6 men in the age from 40 to 65 years (mean age 55.7 +/- 9.7 years) and 5 women in the age from 34 to 72 years (mean age 53.7 +/- 13.6 years). The mean duration of NIDDM among men was 14.1 +/- 8.6 years, among women - 13.6 +/- 10.2 years and the mean duration of IDDM among men was 26.1 +/- 6.7 years, among women-26.0 +/- 10.8 years. In that period among patients with diabetes mellitus 80 patients died (64 percent), and among patients with normal glucose tolerance-died 39 patients (32 percent). In the analysis of survival time of patients with diabetes mellitus after nontraumatic amputation of a lower limb the following factors were the essential predictors of death: age (p = 0.0001), duration of diabetes (p = 0.03), arterial hypertension (p = 0.006), peripheral arterial disease (p = 0.0007), diabetic nephropathy (p = 0.0065). Among patients with normal tolerance glucose only the age was the essential predictor of death (p = 0.0001). The necessity of performance of amputation of a lower limb among patients with diabetes mellitus provides information on unsuccessful course of disease.