Economic burden of podiatric care for diabetic foot ulcers in the Czech Republic: A prospective multicenter study
An erratum to this article was published (Diabetes Res Clin Pract, Nov 2025 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
On average, podiatric care for patients with DFUs in the Czech Republic is 3 to 9 times more expensive than standard diabetes healthcare. The expenses for hospitalized patients are almost 6 times higher than for outpatients. The composite WIfI score was the most significant indicator of podiatric financial burden.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with DF ulcers (DFUs) from 10 podiatric foot clinics in the Czech Republic; mean age 68 ± 11 years, diabetes duration 19 ± 11 years, HbA1c 62 ± 14 mmol/mol, composite WIfI score 3 ± 2; 33 % new DFUs, 37 % previous amputations, 50 % peripheral artery disease (PAD)
- Participants
- 119 patients
- Outcome
- Total direct and indirect costs of podiatric care per patient
- Follow-up
- 6 months
Methodological detailsmulticenter, Costs monitored over 6 months using an electronic database
- Multicenter
- Costs monitored over 6 months using an electronic database
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Average cost per patient
€2,506
Median cost per patient
€1,320
Share of expenses on therapeutic procedures
51.4 %
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Costs, hospitalized patients vs outpatients · 6 months · significantly higher with hospitalized Hospitalized mean €7,923 · Outpatients mean €1,304 · P < 0.001
Hospital services share Hospitalized 32 %
Therapeutic procedures share
Antibiotic and local therapies share Hospitalized 20 %
Correlation of composite WIfI score with total podiatric costs
- WIfI score (primarily wound component), r
- 0.434 (95 % CI 0.279-0.559; P < 0.0001)
- Only parameter with significant positive correlation
Other cost predictors
- New DFUs or PAD not linked to significantly increased costs
- Age, diabetes duration, DFU duration and HbA1c showed no significant cost correlations
Original publication
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