Mackay could become a diabetes research hub with the potential to help accelerate treatment breakthroughs and enable greater access to life-changing technology for sufferers.
This is the goal of Mackay HHS endocrinologist Dr Harshal Deshmukh who, after only 10 months in the region, has secured funding to conduct a world-first study focussed on type 2 diabetes and Diabetic Foot Disease (DFD) which could transform lives, reduce complications and improve treatment options.
The local study, which investigates technology to track blood sugar and how it can benefit wound healing, was critical to stemming a coming “tsunami of diabetic foot disease”, Dr Deshmukh said.
The Mackay researcher has been awarded $50,000 in funding by the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) to conduct a 12-month study on the effects of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) on wound healing, quality of life and amputation rates in a high-risk diabetes foot clinic.
DFD was a common complication of diabetes which affected people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and is defined as infection, ulceration and soft tissue destruction of the foot, Dr Deshmukh said.
DFD was associated with high morbidity, mortality and reduced quality of life. The increasing incidence and its propensity for recurrence cause a substantial burden to the healthcare system, he said.
“I am seeing three to four patients with diabetic foot disease every week here in our high-risk clinic at Mackay Base Hospital,” Dr Deshmukh said.
“The five-year mortality rate for patients with diabetic foot is comparable to or worse than many forms of cancer, reaching about 50% in many cases.
“This research will focus investigations on patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic foot, so by definition, they have poorly controlled diabetes management and require intensive glucose management.”
Dr Deshmukh said the 12-month research project would provide data on glycaemic control in type 2 patients and its correlation to healing diabetic foot ulcers to prevent limb amputations and prolong life expectancy. Limb amputation was 15 times more common in people with diabetes, Dr Deshmukh said.
Trials using the CGM device would track patient’s blood sugar levels across the day, providing researchers with data to inform treatment options. The CGMs would be used for a three to six-month period across 40 patients to test blood sugar levels in a 24-hour period.
“Having more data means we can provide evidence on how this technology can improve health outcomes for people with type 2 diabetes, including preventing amputations, complications and extended hospitalisations,” he said.
“This is the first study of CGMS in people living with type 2 diabetes and having a foot ulcer and if we see a good result, we can do another much bigger study with a much larger sample across multiple centres to get further evidence it works which may actually help get it on the PBS.
“There’s been a lot of research done on CGMs and their benefit with type 1 diabetes, but no research has been done on if they can assist with wound healing in diabetic foot anywhere in the world,” Dr Deshmukh said.
CGMs are currently not subsidised for type 2 diabetes.
His research team would include Mackay HHS diabetic nurse educators, staff in the high-risk foot clinic, GPs, physicians, the Mackay Institute of Research and Innovation (MIRI) and staff from Together Strong Connected Care, a community-based program designed to improve lifestyle choices and support First Nations people in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.
Dr Deshmukh said he hoped the research would pave the way for patients with type 2 having subsidised access to CGMs and ultimately, change how diabetic foot disease was treated.
