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Foot Ulcers
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are chronic wounds that can develop on the foot or lower extremities of people with diabetes. DFUs often occur from complications of diabetes-specifically, peripheral neuropathy, a condition in which feeling, or sensation, is lost due to reduced blood flow to the lower extremities. Among people with diabetes, approximately 15% experience a DFU in their lifetime, and approximately 2.5% develop a DFU each year.
If not properly treated, DFUs can result in serious complications, including amputation. In fact, of those patients who do develop a DFU, 14% to 24% will require an amputation. In the United States, approximately 60% of all lower extremity amputations occur among persons with diabetes; of these amputations, approximately 85% are preceded by a foot ulcer. Additionally, the rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
How to treat a diabetic foot ulcer:
Reduce infection
Proper Nutrition to help treat neuropathy
Debridement (surgical)
Dressings (Click here for list of up-to-date common wound care dressings)
Offloading
References from above statements are from:
| References: |
| 1. |
Consensus Development Conference on Diabetic Foot Wound Care. Diabetes Care. 1999;22(8):1354-1360. |
| 2. |
Sheehan P, Jones P, Caselli A, Giurini JM, Veves A. Percent change in wound area of diabetic foot ulcers over a 4-week period is a robust predictor of complete healing in 12-week prospective trial. Diabetes Care. 2003;26(6):1879-1882. |
| 3. |
American Diabetes Association. Complications of diabetes in the United States. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/complications.jsp. Accessed February 22, 2007. |
| 4. |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. History of foot ulcer among persons with diabetes - United States, 2000-2002. Atlanta, Ga: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2003. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5245a3.htm. Accessed October 25, 2006. |
| 5. |
Frykberg RG, Zgonis T, Armstrong D, et al. Diabetic foot disorders: a clinical practice guideline. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2006;45(suppl 5):S1-S66. |
| 6. |
Hanft JR, Surprenant MS. Healing of chronic foot ulcers in diabetic patients treated with a human fibroblast-derived dermis. J |
For more information on Diabetic the disease, please click here.
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