Table 4.
Deaths and causes of death in neuropathic and ischaemic ulcer patients on death certification and postmortem examination.
| Cause of death | Neuropathic on DC (n = 56) |
Ischaemic on DC (n = 187) |
P | Neuropathic on PM (n = 24) |
Ischaemic on PM (n = 56) |
P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ischaemic heart disease | 28 (50%) | 83 (44.4%) | 0.460 | 19 (79.2%) | 31 (55.4%) | 0.049 |
| (i) CAD/atherosclerosis | 23 | 57 | 0.141 | 16 | 24 | 0.055 |
| (ii) MI/coronary thrombosis | 17 | 30 | 0.019 | 13 | 13 | 0.009 |
| (iii) Cardiac arrest | 0 | 5 | 0.519 | 0 | 0 | 0.116 |
| Other cardiac causes | 1 (1.8%) | 12 (6.4%) | 0.188 | 0 | 7 (12.5%) | 0.176 |
| Bronchopneumonia | 7 (12.5%) | 32 (17.1%) | 0.411 | 1 (4.2%) | 2 (3.6%) | 0.082 |
| Cancer | 8 (14.3%) | 12 (6.4%) | 0.067 | 0 | 2 (3.6%) | 0.606 |
| Pulmonary thromboembolic disease | 1 (1.8%) | 7 (3.7%) | 0.482 | 1 (4.2%) | 5 (8.9%) | 0.469 |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 1 (1.8%) | 10 (5.4%) | 0.285 | 0 | 1 (1.8%) | 0.865 |
| Septicaemia | 2 (3.6%) | 8 (4.3%) | 0.816 | 0 | 0 | 0.678 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 0 | 3 (1.6%) | 0.616 | 0 | 2 (3.6%) | 0.606 |
| Renal failure | 4 (7.1%) | 6 (3.2%) | 0.205 | 0 | 0 | 0.678 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 1 (1.8%) | 4 (2.1%) | 0.870 | 1 (4.2%) | 0 | 0.232 |
| Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm | 1 (1.8%) | 1 (0.5%) | 0.392 | 1 (4.2%) | 1 (1.8%) | 0.544 |
| Other | 2 (3.6%) | 9 (4.8%) | 0.701 | 1 (4.2%) | 4 (7.1%) | 0.619 |
DC: death certification, PM: postmortem, CAD: coronary artery disease, and MI: myocardial infarction.