Project
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is an increasingly common disease in society. An important and frequent complication is the occurrence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). These ulcers, which are due to neurological and vascular damage in people with DM, require intensive care and incur significant costs, often leading to unsuccessful treatments and ultimately amputations.
Tibial transverse callus distraction (TTDO), a novel procedure that has been tested in retrospective studies, has shown promise to improve wound healing when added to standard care. A clinical trial is being designed to test this procedure. As it has been shown that the inclusion of the perspectives of patients, caregivers and relatives can add significant value to such a design, a participatory approach was chosen. This is intended to develop the study design in the interests of those who will ultimately benefit from the results, as well as to facilitate practical issues such as approaching and recruiting test subjects. The funding line also explicitly provides for a participatory approach.
In the conceptual phase of the BMFTR-funded TTDO-DFU-CoCo project, workshops are therefore organized with up to 15 patients, carers and relatives. The aim of the workshops is to develop the design of the future clinical study on the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers using TTDO through joint, participatory discussions on the treatment of DFU and obtaining the perspectives of all stakeholders involved (patients, carers and relatives). In addition, the workshops will identify health-economically relevant cost components that play a role in the care of people with DFU. Three of the workshop participants are supporting the project as co-researchers. They are also involved in the conceptualization of the study beyond the workshops and are involved in the continuous evaluation and reflection of participation.
Further details on the project:
Link to the interview with Dr. med. Markus Laubach at www.diabetes-tv.de
Article in the magazine: LMU-Klinikum aktuell (03/2025; p. 8/9)