Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Multidisciplinary Amputation Prevention at the DeBakey VA Hospital: Our First Decade.

Barshes NR, Garcia AD, Mindru C, Rodriguez-Barradas M, Kougias P, Green DM, Awad SS. Multidisciplinary Amputation Prevention at the DeBakey VA Hospital: Our First Decade. Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS. 2024 Nov 1; 41(Suppl 5):1-6.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

BACKGROUND: In 2011, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) undertook multidisciplinary efforts to improve care for patients with nonhealing foot ulcers and reduce leg amputation rates. This article examines the impact of interdisciplinary care for amputation prevention in the VHA. METHODS: The VHA patient population was characterized using internal registries. Texas hospital admission data were used to identify sex and zip-code matched cohorts. VHA provided data on national and local frequencies of various amputations and the number of patients with diabetes. RESULTS: Compared to matched nonveteran patients, veterans treated at VHA hospitals were older and more often self-identified as Black. They also had significantly higher rates of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and systolic heart failure. A decrease from 160 to 66 amputations per 100,000 was seen from 2012 to 2017 (a 60% reduction) after implementing interdisciplinary care. Several evidence-directed practices were implemented during the study period. The proportion of angiograms for foot ulcers or gangrene increased from 28.9% to 90.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Interdisciplinary care can significantly reduce leg amputation rates. This reduction does not seem dependent on a particular model for providing inpatient care.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.