- Doctors Describe Texas Dairy Farm Worker’s Case of Bird Flu
- Does Preschool Boost Kids’ Long-Term Academic Success? Study Finds Mixed Results
- AI Might Spot Rare Diseases in Patients Years Earlier
- An Orangutan Healed Himself With Medicinal Plant
- Quit-Smoking Meds Not Working for You? Try Upping the Dose
- Fewer Americans Are Suffering Most Dangerous Form of Heart Attack
- Even Skipping Meat for One Meal Helps Liver Disease Patients
- You May Not Have to Fast Before Catheter-Based Heart Test, Study Suggests
- EPA Earmarks $3 Billion to Replace Lead Pipes Nationwide
- Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $6.5 Billion to Settle Talc Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits
High Blood Sugar May Raise Risk for Surgical Wound Problems: Study
FRIDAY, Oct. 4Diabetes patients with high blood sugar levels are at increased risk for surgical wound-related complications after having surgery to close chronic skin ulcers caused by diabetes, a small new study says.
The findings show the need for better blood sugar control in these patients before they have such surgery, the researchers noted.
Their study of 79 patients found that the risk of serious wound complications was more than three times higher among those with high blood sugar before and after surgery, and in those with poor long-term diabetes control.
The complications included wound dehiscence (re-opening of the surgical incision), wound infections and repeat surgery. Among the specific findings, wound dehiscence occurred in 44 percent of patients with high blood sugar levels before surgery, compared to 19 percent of those with good blood sugar control.
The risk of wound dehiscence was also higher among patients with high blood sugar levels after surgery and among those with poor long-term diabetes control, according to the study in the October issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Patients with wide swings in blood sugar levels were four times more likely to require repeat surgery, according to a journal news release.
Although the study found an association between higher blood sugar levels and wound problems, it didn’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
Episodes of high blood sugar can occur around the time of surgery even in patients with previously good diabetes control, said study authors Dr. Matthew Endara and Dr. Christopher Attinger, of the Center for Wound Healing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
They said their findings point to the importance of good blood sugar control in diabetes patients undergoing surgery, and said surgeons may need to consult with specialists to manage patients’ diabetes.
The study authors also said that more research is needed to confirm whether tighter control of blood sugar levels around the time of surgery will reduce the rate of surgical wound-related complications.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.