Diabetic foot remains one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus, often leading to chronic wounds, repeated procedures, and possible limb loss. A prospective real-world cohort published in Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare found that the Tardivo Algorithm was feasible for structured serial risk reassessment during routine outpatient management of diabetic foot.

The observational study was conducted in a vascular surgery outpatient clinic managing complex wounds. Adult patients with diabetic foot underwent baseline classification using the Tardivo Algorithm, followed by structured reassessment at each follow-up visit within standard multidisciplinary care. No comparator group was included. Patients were followed for 6 to 18 months, and outcomes were descriptively recorded as minor amputation, major amputation, wound in process of healing, or complete healing.

A total of 42 patients were included. The mean baseline Tardivo score was 7.6 ± 4.8, and 19% were categorized as high risk with scores of 12 or higher. Limb preservation was observed in 94.3% of patients. Complete healing occurred in 57%, with a mean healing time of 5.05 ± 1.95 months.

Higher baseline Tardivo scores were positively associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (r = 0.740; p < 0.001). Longer healing time was associated with PAD (r = 0.547; p = 0.006) and prior amputations (r = 0.523; p = 0.009), although these relationships were not independent in multivariable models.

The findings suggest that structured use of the Tardivo Algorithm can be integrated into routine diabetic foot follow-up for dynamic monitoring. Controlled studies are still needed to determine whether algorithm-guided care independently improves outcomes.