ObjectiveTo explore the relationship of the level of inflammation and nutritional status with the occurrence and prognosis of refractory diabetic foot.MethodsA total of 70 patients with refractory diabetic foot between August 2015 and August 2017 were randomly selected as the observation group. Another 70 patients with diabetes mellitus (without foot ulcer) who visited the hospital in the same period were set as the control group. The observation group was subgrouped into the non-amputation group and the amputation group according to the follow-up endpoint events, and into the grade Ⅲ, Ⅳ, and Ⅴ groups according to Wagner classification method. The blood levels of inflammatory markers and nutritional markers between groups were compared.ResultsIn the observation group, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), fibrinogen (FIB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-18, lipoprotein phospholipase A2 (LP-PLA2), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly higher than those in the control group, and albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), and transferrin (TRF) levels were significantly lower than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.01). The blood levels of FGF2, FIB, IL-6, IL-18, LP-PLA2, and CRP in the amputation group were significantly higher than those in the non-amputation group, and the levels of TRF, ALB, and PA were significantly lower than those in the non-amputation group (P<0.01). There were statistically significant differences in the levels of FGF2, FIB, IL-6, IL-18, LP-PLA2, CRP, TRF, ALB, and PA in patients with diabetic foot with different Wagner grades (P<0.05). The result of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that IL-6 [odds ratio (OR)=1.487, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.023, 2.120), P<0.001], IL-18 [OR=1.274, 95%CI (1.052, 1.665), P<0.001], LP-PLA2 [OR=1.478, 95%CI (1.126, 1.789), P<0.001], and CRP [OR=2.085, 95%CI (1.574, 2.782), P<0.001] were independent risk factors for the occurrence of refractory diabetic foot, and TRF [OR=0.645, 95%CI (0.002, 0.898), P<0.001], ALB [OR=0.838, 95%CI (0.429, 0.923), P<0.001], and PA [OR=0.478, 95%CI (0.201, 0.984), P<0.001] were independent protective factors for the occurrence of refractory diabetic foot.ConclusionIn the clinical treatment of diabetic foot, we should pay attention to the monitoring of the level of inflammatory factors and nutritional status, and it is necessary to timely carry out anti-inflammatory treatment and appropriate nutritional support treatment.