Podiatry Today magazine is bringing attention to the special situation of infection in the feet of people with diabetes. Diabetes not only is an immunosuppressant disease (lowers the function of the immune system), but it also decreases circulation in those affected. Because of these two things, and the fact that your feet are just about the most difficult thing to properly examine, they are prime targets for infection.
The article states that “patients with diabetes and a foot infection had a 154.5 times greater risk of amputation and are 55.7 times more at risk for hospitalization than those without infection.” Yikes.
Here are their recommendations for avoiding infection:
The best methods of preventing infection are those that help patients avoid foot wounds, says study co-author Benjamin Lipsky, MD. Citing a 2005 article he co-authored in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Lipsky says such methods include screening for loss of protective sensation, assessment of foot biomechanics and screening for peripheral vascular insufficiency. He notes that screening for these factors can help stratify patients into groups by their risk for developing an ulcer. Ensuring periodic foot examinations and debriding calluses can also prevent foot ulcers, according to Dr. Lipsky, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
In addition to educating patients on proper foot care, Dr. Lipsky says clinicians should encourage these patients to optimize their glycemic control, stop smoking, wear appropriate footwear and practice proper principles of foot hygiene.
If you have diabetes and are reading this, I assume you are reading Rob Rummel-Hudson’s very colorful and informative Diabetes Notes. If not, why not start now?
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2 responses so far ↓
mh javadi // Oct 28, 2006 at 9:54 am
Recovery of infectious diabetics
Scott Brison // Nov 30, 2006 at 6:31 am
“Foot wounds are now the most common diabetes-related cause of hospitalization and a frequent precursor to amputation,†write Lavery and colleagues. They add that people with diabetes are 30 times more likely to have a leg or foot amputated than those without diabetes.
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