The Potential Impact and Diagnostic Value of Inflammatory Markers on Diabetic Foot Progression in Type II Diabetes Mellitus: A Case–control Study

BackgroundThe wound-healing process in diabetic foot is affected by pro and anti-inflammatory markers, and any disruption in the inflammatory reaction interferes with tissue homeostasis, leading to chronic non-wound healing.AimThis study aimed to determine the diagnostic value and effect of CRP, IL-6, TNF, and HbA1c on initiation the and progression of diabetic foot ulcers.MethodELISA was used to quantify IL-6, TNF, CRP, and HbA1c in 205 patients with diabetes, and 105 were diabetic foot free. The prevalence and progression of diabetic foot were also evaluated. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to analyze the predictive values. Forward stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to compute the odds ratio (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsCRP, IL-6, and FBS were found to be significant predictors of diabetic foot (OR=1.717, 95% CI=1.250–2.358, P=0.001; OR=1.434, 95% CI=1.142–1.802, P=0.002; and OR=1.040, 95% CI=1.002–1.080, P=0.037), respectively. The AUCs for CRP, IL-6, and HbA1c in predicting diabetic foot were 0.839, 0.728, and 0.834, respectively, demonstrating a good predictive value for each diagnostic marker.ConclusionThe current study demonstrated that IL-6, CRP, and HbA1c may be useful biomarkers to indicate diabetic foot progression. Furthermore, our findings showed a substantial relationship between CRP and HbA1c in individuals with diabetic foot conditions.