A recent retrospective cohort study of Medicare patients hospitalized with a diabetic foot ulcer found an intersectionality of patients who identify as black as well as rural patients, and the mortality probability or probability of major leg amputation.
This study examined 124,487 patients and based on a statistical analysis, found that rural patients identifying as black had more than a 10% absolute increased risk of death or major leg amputation versus the overall cohort.
This helps to confirm past studies that found that rural patients have a 35% increased chance of major leg amputation versus urban patients.1,2
Source:
1 Brennan MB, Allen GO, Ferguson PD, McBride JA, Crnich CJ, Smith MA. The association between geographic density of infectious disease physicians and limb preservation in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017;4(1):ofx015. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofx015
2 Skrepnek GH, Mills JL Sr, Armstrong DG. A diabetic emergency one million feet long: disparities and burdens of illness among diabetic foot ulcer cases within emergency departments in the United States, 2006-2010. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0134914. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134914
