Introduction:

Diabetic foot ulcer is a major cause of morbidity and it is a chronic complication of diabetes mellitus that impacts quality of life. Patients with diabetic feet have a high amputation rate, a surgical procedure that emotionally and economically affects patients, family members, physicians and society.

Objective:

To identify the prognostic factors for major amputation in patients with diabetic foot ulcer undergoing surgery.

Methods:

A descriptive cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 73 patients diagnosed with diabetic foot ulcer: 29 with major amputation and 44 with minor amputation. The variables studied were: age, sex, type of diabetes and its evolution time, arterial pulses, type of diabetic foot, presence of infected ischemic ulcer, abscess, osteomyelitis, neuropathic ulcer, digital gangrene, progressive soft-tissue necrosis and infection. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated, and variables were associated.

Results:

There was predominance of the male sex (56.2%) and of diabetes mellitus type 2 (93.2%). Progressive soft-tissue necrosis was observed in 30 patients and the ischemic ulcer represented the 30.1%.

Conclusions:

Ischemic ulcer with infection, digital gangrene and progressive soft-tissue necrosis resulted in the major amputation´s prognostic factors identified in diabetic foot patients undergoing surgery.

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