Abstract:Objective To analyze the distribution of pathogenic microorganisms in diabetic foot (DF) infection, and to construct the risk prediction model for DF infection.Methods Eighty-two patients with DF in Wenchang City People's Hospital from January 2019 to January 2022 were enrolled, and bacterial cultures were performed on their foot wound secretions. The distribution characteristics of the pathogenic microorganisms were summarized. The independent risk factors for DF infection were determined via multivariable Logistic regression analysis, and based on which the risk prediction model was established. The accuracy of each independent indicator and the risk prediction model for predicting DF infection was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Besides, predictive efficacy of the risk prediction model was verified by cross-validation.Results Pathogenic microorganisms were isolated from foot wound secretions in 50 out of 82 DF patients. A total of 79 strains were detected, including 37 strains (46.84%) of gram-positive bacteria, 38 strains (48.10%) of gram-negative bacteria and 4 strains (5.06%) of fungi. Multivariable Logistic regression analysis denoted that duration of DF [O^R = 2.201 (95% CI: 1.754, 2.763) ], peripheral neuropathy [O^R = 3.177 (95% CI: 1.518, 6.652) ], white blood cell (WBC) count [O^R =2.425 (95% CI: 1.512, 3.890) ] and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [O^R = 1.976 (95% CI: 1.481, 2.636) ] were independent factors affecting DF infection (P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis revealed that the areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of duration of DF, peripheral neuropathy, WBC count and LDL-C for predicting DF infection were 0.665, 0.659, 0.685 and 0.645, with the sensitivities being 68.0% (0.538, 0.841), 60.0% (0.563, 0.794), 76.0% (0.550, 0.882) and 62.0% (0.512, 0.803), and the specificities being 68.7% (0.548, 0.853), 71.9% (0.615, 0.899), 59.4% (0.440, 0.603) and 62.5% (0.536, 0.815), respectively. With the regression coefficients of the abovementioned variables included in the multivariable Logistic regression model, a risk prediction model was established as y = 0.789 × duration of DF + 1.156 × peripheral neuropathy + 0.886 × WBC count + 0.681 × LDL-C - 3.157. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the AUC of the risk prediction model was 0.908, with a cut-off value of 0.513, a sensitivity of 84.10% (0.651, 0.917) and a specificity of 75.61% (0.579, 0.855), respectively.Conclusions DF infection has a high prevalence rate, but it is mostly caused by a single pathogen. Moreover, the duration of DF, peripheral neuropathy, WBC count and the level of LDL-C are independent factors affecting DF infection, and the risk prediction model based on these factors facilitates the screening of those at a high risk for DF infection.