Annual update of indicators in the diabetes foot care profiles (Public Health England)
Diabetes News
Category: Wound Care
Barriers to foot care in patients with diabetes as identified by healthcare professionals
The crucial barrier to diabetic foot care is delay in accessing specialist care. Until this is addressed, care will be less than optimum and amputations will continue (Diabetic Medicine)
Current Challenges and Opportunities in the Prevention and Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers
There is strong suggestive evidence to indicate that appropriate changes in the relevant care pathways can result in a prompt improvement in clinical outcomes (Diabetes Care)
Physical activity and exercise on diabetic foot related outcomes: a systematic review
This review suggests evidence that physical activity and exercise is an effective non-pharmacological intervention to improve diabetic foot related outcomes. Combined multi-disciplinary treatments are more effective in the prevention of foot complications in patients with diabetes (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice)
Association between biofilm and multi/extensive drug resistance in diabetic foot infection
Multi/extensive drug resistance and previous recurrent DFIs were significantly associated with biofilm formation in patients with diabetic foot (International Journal of Clinical Practice)
Topical antimicrobial agents for treating foot ulcers in people with diabetes
Low-certainty evidence suggests that treatment with antimicrobial dressings may increase the likelihood of healing of these wounds. The limited and weak available evidence does not allow us to draw firm conclusions on the role of any topical antimicrobial in the treatment or prevention of wound infection in people with foot ulcers and diabetes (Cochrane Library)
Prognosis of the infected diabetic foot ulcer: a 12-month prospective observational study
Clinical outcomes at 12 months for people with an infected diabetic foot ulcer are generally poor. Our data confirm the adverse prognostic effect of limb ischaemia, longer ulcer duration and the presence of multiple ulcers (Diabetic Medicine)
Diabetic foot
This clinical update is based on recommendations in the standard treatment guideline, The diabetic foot: prevention and management in India 2016, published by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (BMJ)
The impact of glycaemic variability on wound healing in the diabetic foot – a retrospective study of new ulcers presenting to a specialist multidisciplinary foot clinic
Our data suggest that there was a significant association between HbA1c variability and healing time in diabetic foot ulcers (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice)
Diabetes-related major lower limb amputation incidence is strongly related to diabetic foot service provision and improves with enhancement of services: peer review of the South-West of England
Major diabetes-related lower limb amputation incidence is significantly inversely correlated with foot care services provision. Introduction of more effective service provision resulted in significant reductions in major amputation incidence within 2 years. Failure to improve unsatisfactory service provision resulted in continued high amputation incidence (Diabetic Medicine)
Unplanned 30-day readmission in patients with diabetic foot wounds treated in a multidisciplinary setting
We found a 17% unplanned 30-day readmission rate in this prospective cohort of DFU patients enrolled in a multidisciplinary diabetic foot service. Only current smoking and hypertension were independent predictors of readmission after risk adjustment (Journal of Vascular Surgery)
The Society for Vascular Surgery Wound, Ischemia, and foot Infection (WIfI) Classification Independently Predicts Wound Healing in Neuroischemic Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Among patients with DFU, the WIfI classification system predicts wound healing at 1 year in both crude and risk-adjusted analyses. This is the first study to validate the WIfI score as an independent predictor of wound healing using multivariable analysis (Journal of Vascular Surgery)
Feasibility and Efficacy of a Smart Mat Technology to Predict Development of Diabetic Plantar Ulcers
Given the encouraging study results and the significant burden of DFU, use of this mat may result in significant reductions in morbidity, mortality, and resource utilization (Diabetes Care)
A randomized, open-label, controlled trial to evaluate the antimicrobial and surgical effect of CO2 laser treatment in diabetic infected foot ulcers: DULCIS (diabetic ulcer, CO2 laser, and infections) study
Debridement of ulcers with CO2 laser significantly reduces bacterial load and fibrin-covered areas, and could be of help in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer (Journal of Endocrinological Investigation)
Fibrinogen: A Marker in Predicting Diabetic Foot Ulcer Severity
Fibrinogen levels might be a valuable tool for assessing the disease severity and monitoring the disease progression in patients with DFU (Journal of Diabetes Research)
Concordance in diabetic foot ulceration
A cross-sectional study of agreement between wound swabbing and tissue sampling in infected ulcers (NIHR)
Minor amputation does not negatively affect health-related quality of life as compared to conservative treatment in patients with a diabetic foot ulcer
Minor amputation was not associated with a negative impact on HRQoL in patients with a DFU. It may therefore not be considered treatment failure in terms of HRQoL, but rather a viable treatment option. A randomised controlled trial is warranted to further examine the influence of minor amputations on HRQoL (Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews)
Low Cost Inkjet Printed Smart Bandage for Wireless Monitoring of Chronic Wounds
The smart bandage comprises a disposable part which has the inkjet printed sensors and a reusable part constituting the wireless electronics. This work is an important step towards futuristic wearable sensors for remote health care applications (Nature Scientific Reports)
UrgoStart for chronic wounds
The technology described in this briefing is the UrgoStart wound dressing. It is used to treat chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers or venous leg ulcers, as well as non-healing acute wounds (NICE)
Redefining the Chronic-Wound Microbiome: Fungal Communities Are Prevalent, Dynamic, and Associated with Delayed Healing
Combined, our analyses provide enhanced resolution of the mycobiome during impaired wound healing, its role in chronic disease, and impact on clinical outcomes (mBio)
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