Diabetes-Related Extremity Amputation Depression and Distress (DREADD): A Multimethod Study

Of the roughly 38 million people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the United States, up to 34% will develop a diabetic foot ulcer at some point, up to 75% of those who develop an ulcer will experience recurrent ulcers, and approximately 18% of patients with a diabetic foot ulcer will undergo lower-limb amputation. The aim of this study was to determine whether depressive symptoms change after a minor, nontraumatic amputation. We conducted a multimethod study consisting of semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and a retrospective cohort (n = 20) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent a nontraumatic, minor amputation of a single toe (partial or total) or partial ray resection. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores were noted before and after surgery within 30 days of each other. The Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test was used to determine differences in the PHQ-9 scores before amputation and after amputation. Of the 20 patients in the retrospective cohort, 90% (18 of 20) had higher PHQ-9 scores within 30 days of amputation. Mean PHQ-9 scores were 3.65 and 12.35 before and after amputation, respectively (a difference of 8.7; P = .0001). Diabetes-related extremity amputation depression and distress is a potentially dangerous complication of diabetes mellitus. Nontraumatic amputations can be a traumatic experience for patients. Surgeons should screen their patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus before and after any (minor or major) nontraumatic amputation and make the appropriate referral, if necessary. Sufficient evidence exists in the literature to warrant the inclusion of psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians in multidisciplinary limb preservation teams.