How To Prevent Foot Ulcers In Diabetic Patients

The prevalence of development of foot ulcers in diabetic patients is 4% to 10%, these ulcers may be infected, cause morbidity and may lead to lower extremity amputation.Objective: Prevention of diabetic foot ulcers in patients known to be diabetics by fasting blood sugar (FBS), HbA1C tests.Material and Methods: The study was done on 120 patients between March 2010 and July 2011 diagnosed as diabetics and they performed simple screening tests for peripheral neuropathy (Semmes-Weinstein monofilament examination (SWME), superficial pain, vibration testing by the on-off method, the timed method). Nerve conduction studies (NCS) were used as standard criterion for detection of neuropathy, they also underwent Doppler ultrasound and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) measurement to assess the vascularity of their lower limbs. All patients were given proper education to prevent foot ulcers, including optimising glycemic control, cessation of smoking, debridement of calluses, appropriate foot wear and foot care with periodic foot examination.Results: In our study we succeeded in increasing the prevention of foot ulceration in our diabetic patients by 95%, compared to results achieved with the previous measures.Conclusion: Screening tests are effective for all diabetic patients to identify patients at risk of foot ulceration. They may benefit from prophylactic interventions including, optimising glycemic control, cessation of smoking, debridement of calluses, appropriate foot wear and intensive foot care.Also, we take care of patients with low risk of foot ulceration by adequate foot care and periodic foot examination to prevent foot ulceration.