Diabetic foot

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Diabetic foot
Other namesDiabetic foot syndrome
Neuropathic heel ulcer diabetic.jpg
Neuropathic diabetic foot ulcer
Specialty Infectious disease, endocrinology, surgery

A diabetic foot disease is any condition that results directly from peripheral artery disease (PAD) or sensory neuropathy affecting the feet of people living with diabetes. Diabetic foot conditions can be acute or chronic complications of diabetes. [1] Presence of several characteristic diabetic foot pathologies such as infection, diabetic foot ulcer and neuropathic osteoarthropathy is called diabetic foot syndrome. The resulting bone deformity is known as Charcot foot.

Contents

Due to advanced peripheral nerve dysfunction associated with diabetes (diabetic neuropathy), patients' feet have a dryness of the skin and a reduced ability to feel pain (nociception). Hence, minor injuries may remain undiscovered and subsequently progress to a full-thickness diabetic foot ulcer. Moreover, foot surgery is well tolerated without anaesthesia. [2] The feet's insensivity to pain can easily be established by 512 mN quantitative pinprick stimulation. [3] In diabetes, peripheral nerve dysfunction can be combined with peripheral artery disease (PAD) causing poor blood circulation to the extremities (diabetic angiopathy). [4] Around half of the patients with a diabetic foot ulcer have co-existing PAD. [5] [6] Vitamin D deficiency has been recently found to be associated with diabetic foot infections and increased risk of amputations and deaths. [7] Research estimates that the lifetime incidence of foot ulcers within the diabetic community is around 15% and may become as high as 25%. [8] Where wounds take a long time to heal, infection may set in, spreading to bones and joints, and lower limb amputation may be necessary. Foot infection is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputation in people with diabetes. [9]

Prevention

Prevention of diabetic foot may include optimising metabolic control via the regulation of blood glucose levels; identification and screening of people at high risk for diabetic foot ulceration, especially those with advanced painless neuropathy; and patient education in order to promote foot self-examination and foot care knowledge. Patients would be taught routinely to inspect their feet for hyperkeratosis, fungal infection, skin lesions and foot deformities. Control of footwear is also important as repeated trauma from tight shoes can be a triggering factor, [10] especially where peripheral neuropathy is present. Evidence is limited that low-quality patient education courses have a long-term preventative impact. [11]

Foot screening guidelines have been previously reviewed, with a view to examining their completeness in terms of advancement in clinical practice, improvements in technology, and changes in socio-cultural structure. Results suggested that limitations of available guidelines and lack of evidence on which the guidelines were based were responsible for the gaps between guidelines, standard clinical practice, and development of complications. It concluded that for the development of standard recommendations and everyday clinical practice, it was necessary to pay more attention to both the limitations of guidelines and the underlying evidence. [12]

According to a 2011 meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, only foot temperature-guided avoidance therapy was found beneficial in preventing ulceration. [13]

Prediction

Monitoring a person's feet can help in predicting the likelihood of developing ulcers. A common method for this is using a special thermometer to look for spots on the foot that have higher temperature which indicate the possibility of an ulcer developing. [14] At the same time there is no strong scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of at-home foot temperature monitoring. [15]

The current guideline in the United Kingdom recommends collecting 8-10 pieces of information for predicting the development of foot ulcers. [16] A simpler method proposed by researchers provides a more detailed risk score based on three pieces of information (insensitivity, foot pulse, previous history of ulcers or amputation). This method is not meant to replace people regularly checking their own feet but complement it. [14] [17]

Once ulcers develop, the Wagner and UT scales are two methods that physicians use to determine the severity of the ulcer. These scales are the best known predictors of lower extremity amputations once ulcers develop. [18]

Treatment

Treatment of diabetic foot ulceration can be challenging and prolonged; it may include orthopaedic appliances, surgery and antimicrobial drugs and topical dressings. [11]

Most diabetic foot infections (DFIs) require treatment with systemic antibiotics. The choice of the initial antibiotic treatment depends on several factors such as the severity of the infection, whether the patient has received another antibiotic treatment for it, and whether the infection has been caused by a micro-organism that is known to be resistant to usual antibiotics (e.g. MRSA). The objective of antibiotic therapy is to stop the infection and ensure it does not spread. [19]

It is unclear whether any particular antibiotic is better than any other for curing infection or avoiding amputation. One trial suggested that ertapenem with or without vancomycin is more effective than tigecycline for resolving DFIs. It is also generally unclear whether different antibiotics are associated with more or fewer adverse effects. [9]

It is recommended however that the antibiotics used for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers should be used after deep tissue culture of the wound. Tissue culture and not pus swab culture should be done. Antibiotics should be used at correct doses in order to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. It is unclear if local antibiotics improve outcomes after surgery. [20]

See also

References

  1. Jalilian M, Ahmadi Sarbarzeh P, Oubari S (2020). "Factors Related to Severity of Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Systematic Review". Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. 13: 1835–42. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S256243 . PMC   7259447 . PMID   32547145.
  2. Arts S, Kerselaers L, De Neve J, Vanlauwe J, Cornelis S, Aerden D (2022). "Foot surgery without anesthesia in diabetic patients with sensory neuropathy: A short series". Foot & Ankle Surgery: Techniques, Reports & Cases. 2 (1). Elsevier BV: 100128. doi: 10.1016/j.fastrc.2021.100128 . ISSN   2667-3967. S2CID   245659745.
  3. Chantelau EA (May 2021). "A Novel Diagnostic Test for End-Stage Sensory Failure Associated With Diabetic Foot Ulceration: Proof-of-Principle Study". J Diabetes Sci Technol. 15 (3): 622–9. doi: 10.1177/1932296819900256 . PMC   8111226 . PMID   31948277.
  4. Formosa C, Cassar K, Gatt A, Mizzi A, Mizzi S, Camileri KP, Azzopardi C, DeRaffaele C, Falzon O, Cristina S, Chockalingam N (November 2013). "Hidden dangers revealed by misdiagnosed peripheral arterial disease using ABPI measurement". Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 102 (2): 112–6. doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2013.10.006. PMID   24209599.
  5. International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (2015). "Guidance on the diagnosis, prognosis and management of peripheral artery disease in patients with foot ulcers in diabetes" . Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  6. Schaper NC, Van Netten JJ, Apelqvist J, Lipsky BA, Bakker K (February 2017). "Prevention and management of foot problems in diabetes: A Summary Guidance for Daily Practice 2015, based on the IWGDF guidance documents" (PDF). Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 124: 84–92. doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2016.12.007. PMID   28119194.
  7. Danny Darlington CJ, Suresh Kumar S, Jagdish S, Sridhar MG (November 2019). "Evaluation of Serum Vitamin D Levels in Diabetic Foot Infections: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Center in South India". Iran J Med Sci. 44 (6): 474–482. doi:10.30476/ijms.2018.44951. PMC   6885722 . PMID   31875082.
  8. Singh N, Armstrong DG, Lipsky BA (January 2005). "Preventing foot ulcers in patients with diabetes". JAMA. 293 (2): 217–28. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.2.217 . PMID   15644549.
  9. 1 2 Selva Olid A, Solà I, Barajas-Nava LA, Gianneo OD, Bonfill Cosp X, Lipsky BA (September 2015). "Systemic antibiotics for treating diabetic foot infections". Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 (9): CD009061. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009061.pub2. PMC   8504988 . PMID   26337865.
  10. Stiegler H (February 2004). "[Diabetic foot syndrome]". Herz (in German). 29 (1): 104–15. doi:10.1007/s00059-004-2534-z. PMID   14968346. S2CID   39360504.
  11. 1 2 Dorresteijn JAN, Kriegsman DMW, Assendelft WJJ, Valk GD (2014). "Patient education for preventing diabetic foot ulceration". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014 (12): CD001488. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001488.pub5. hdl: 2066/108980 . PMC   7057029 . PMID   25514250.
  12. Formosa C, Gatt A, Chockalingam N (2016). "A Critical Evaluation of Existing Diabetic Foot Screening Guidelines". Rev Diabet Stud. 13 (2–3): 158–186. doi:10.1900/RDS.2016.13.158. PMC   5553765 . PMID   28012281.
  13. Arad Y, Fonseca V, Peters A, Vinik A (April 2011). "Beyond the monofilament for the insensate diabetic foot: a systematic review of randomized trials to prevent the occurrence of plantar foot ulcers in patients with diabetes". Diabetes Care. 34 (4): 1041–6. doi:10.2337/dc10-1666. PMC   3064020 . PMID   21447666.
  14. 1 2 "Simple tool identifies the people with diabetes most likely to develop foot ulcers" . NIHR Evidence. National Institute for Health and Care Research. 2022-06-21. doi:10.3310/nihrevidence_51316. S2CID   251787297.
  15. Golledge J, Fernando ME, Alahakoon C, Lazzarini PA, Aan de Stegge WB, van Netten JJ, Bus SA (September 2022). "Efficacy of at home monitoring of foot temperature for risk reduction of diabetes-related foot ulcer: A meta-analysis". Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 38 (6): e3549. doi:10.1002/dmrr.3549. PMC   9541448 . PMID   35605998. S2CID   251981184.
  16. "Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management". National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  17. Chappell FM, Crawford F, Horne M, Leese GP, Martin A, Weller D, et al. (May 2021). "Development and validation of a clinical prediction rule for development of diabetic foot ulceration: an analysis of data from five cohort studies". BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 9 (1): e002150. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002150. PMC   8154962 . PMID   34035053.
  18. Jeon BJ, Choi HJ, Kang JS, Tak MS, Park ES (June 2017). "Comparison of five systems of classification of diabetic foot ulcers and predictive factors for amputation". Int Wound J. 14 (3): 537–545. doi:10.1111/iwj.12642. PMC   7949506 . PMID   27723246.
  19. Bader MS (July 2008). "Diabetic Foot Infection". American Family Physician. 78 (1): 71–79. PMID   18649613 . Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  20. Marson BA, Deshmukh SR, Grindlay DJ, Ollivere BJ, Scammell BE (November 2018). "A systematic review of local antibiotic devices used to improve wound healing following the surgical management of foot infections in diabetics". Bone Joint J. 100-B (11): 1409–15. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.100B11.BJJ-2018-0720. PMID   30418057. S2CID   53280854.