Charcot Reconstruction: Outcomes in Patients With and Without Diabetes

Abstract The objective of this study is to compare risk adjusted matched cohorts of Charcot neuroarthropathy patients who underwent osseous reconstruction with and without diabetes. The two groups were matched based on age, body mass index, hypertension, history of end-stage renal disease, and peripheral arterial disease. Bivariate analysis was performed for preoperative infection, location of Charcot breakdown, and post reconstruction outcomes, in patients with a minimum of 1 year follow-up period. Through bivariate analysis, presence of preoperative ulceration (p=0.0499) was found to be statistically more likely in the patients with diabetes; whereas, delayed osseous union (p=0.0050) and return to ambulation (p≤0.0001) was statistically more likely in patients without diabetes. The non-diabetic Charcot patients were 17.6 folds more likely to return to ambulation [OR 17.6 (95% CI (3.5-87.6)], and 16.4 folds more likely to have delayed union [OR 16.4 (95% CI (1.9-139.6)]. Subanalysis compared well-controlled diabetic and non-diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy patients for same factors. Multivariate analysis, in the subanalysis, found return to ambulation was 15.1 times likely to occur in the non-diabetic CN cohort [OR 15.1 (95% CI 1.3-175.8)] compared to the well-controlled diabetic CN cohort.