The impact of residual diabetic toe osteomyelitis at the conservative surgical resection margins on prognosis

AIMS: The study is to investigate how residual osteomyelitis at conservative surgical resection margins affects the prognosis of diabetic toe osteomyelitis. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 67 participants with diabetic toe osteomyelitis who underwent conservative surgery were evaluated. The diagnosis of osteomyelitis was based on histopathology, and bone histopathology was done on the resection bone. After discharge, a 16-week follow-up was conducted, focusing on the wound healing time as the primary outcome. Cox regression analysis was employed as the primary method to analyse the risk factors that influence wound healing. RESULTS: Among the 67 participants, 48 (71.6%) had positive bone margins, while 19 (28.4%) had negative bone margins. Participants with positive bone margins experienced an average healing time of 60.78 ± 18.50 days, whereas those with negative bone margins had an average healing time of 55.19 ± 14.60 days (p = 0.285). Bone margins (positive vs. negative) did not have an impact on wound healing (HR, 1.195 [95% CI, 0.668-2.136]; p = 0.549). Ankle-brachial index was identified as a factor influencing wound healing (HR, 5.399 [95% CI, 1.145-25.455]; p = 0.033). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of wound healing rates (40 of 48 [83.3%] vs. 16 of 19 [84.2%], p = 0.93), inpatient days (19.48 ± 5.25 vs. 18.26 ± 4.79 days, p = 0.385) and duration of antibiotics (32.33 ± 5.64 vs. 30.53 ± 6.93 days, p = 0.272). CONCLUSION: The residual osteomyelitis in diabetic toe osteomyelitis post-conservative surgery does not impact the wound healing.