Mortality in diabetic and nondiabetic patients after amputations performed from 1996 to 2005 in a tertiary hospital population: a 3-year follow-up study

Abstract Aims Diabetes is the leading cause of lower-extremity amputations worldwide. The objective of this study was to look at the survival after first amputation between subjects with and without diabetes in a sample of Greek population. Method We performed a retrospective study of all nontrauma, nonneoplasm–related amputations performed in a tertiary centre during the years 1996–2005 in diabetic ( n =183) and nondiabetic patients ( n =75). Survival status was assessed from the first amputation until December 31, 2005. Results A total of 54.6% of amputees with diabetes and 51.6% of those without diabetes died in a mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] time of 4.3 (3.5–5.1) and 6.6 (4.6–8.6) years after the first amputation, respectively ( P =.65). Diabetic patients underwent a second amputation ( P =.003) and contralateral amputations ( P =.02) more often in comparison with nondiabetic subjects. Predictors of all-cause mortality in the diabetic group, after adjustment for sex, were age [hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI), 1.04 (1.02–1.06); P