Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Remote Foot Temperature Monitoring for Prevention of Amputation in a Large Integrated Health Care System

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of remote foot temperature monitoring (RTM) in the Veterans Affairs health care system.

Research design and methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study that included 924 eligible patients enrolled in RTM between 2019 and 2021 who were matched up to 3:1 to 2,757 nonenrolled comparison patients. We used conditional Cox regression to estimate adjusted cause-specific hazard ratios (aHRs) and corresponding 95% CIs for lower-extremity amputation (LEA) as the primary outcome and all-cause hospitalization and death as secondary outcomes.

Results: RTM was not associated with LEA incidence (aHR 0.92, 95% CI 0.62-1.37) or all-cause hospitalization (aHR 0.97, 95% CI 0.82-1.14) but was inversely associated (reduced risk) with death (aHR 0.63, 95% CI 0.49-0.82).

Conclusions: This study does not provide support that RTM reduces the risk of LEA or all-cause hospitalization in individuals with a history of diabetic foot ulcer. Randomized controlled trials can overcome important limitations.