The United States Department of Veterans Affairs spends an estimated $1.5 billion a year on healthcare for patients with diabetes. The prevalence and complications of diabetes increase with age. Therefore, with the aging of the US and Veteran populations, there is an expectation of increased healthcare costs associated with treating diabetes and the associated complications of this disorder. One common complication is the diabetic foot ulcer. Diabetic foot ulcers are expensive to treat, can take a long time to heal and result in a decrease in patient quality of life. Patients remain susceptible to developing more foot ulcers over time. The goal of this project is to reduce the time it takes to heal a diabetic foot ulcer, increase the time between episodes of ulceration and improve the quality of life for diabetic foot ulcer patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
18
Standard of care device given to diabetic foot ulcer patients.
Additional education, counseling and encouragement of use of the orthosis beyond the current standard of care.
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL
Hines, Illinois, United States
Orthosis wear-time
The total time that the orthosis has been worn between clinic visits.
Time frame: At each clinic visit through study completion, an average of 8 months
Foot ulcer size
Size of the diabetic foot ulcer.
Time frame: At each clinic visit through study completion, an average of 8 months
Foot ulcer healing status
Status of the diabetic foot ulcer.
Time frame: At each clinic visit through study completion, an average of 8 months
Number of foot ulcers
The number of diabetic foot ulcers.
Time frame: At each clinic visit through study completion, an average of 8 months
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