Development of a nurse-provided health system strategy for diabetic foot care.
A nurse-provided university health system diabetic foot screening/education/treatment program evaluated 403 patients in the initial 12 months of development. All patients were provided individualized foot-specific patient education, varying in intensity with the magnitude of their risk status. One hundred and forty-five (36%) were categorized as being at risk for the development of a diabetic foot ulcer. Improper footwear capable of producing foot ulceration was recorded in 268 (66.5%) of the enrollees. Seven patients with previously undiagnosed Charcot foot disorder were identified. Eighty-three of the enrollees were seen at least once in follow-up. Sixty-one (73%) used improper footwear at the initial evaluation, which was decreased to 36 (43%) at the first follow-up visit. Nurse-provided foot-specific diabetic screening and education, combined with protective footwear, has been shown to be a cost- and resource-effective method of decreasing the rate of diabetic foot ulcers, and the risk for eventual lower extremity amputation.
Pinzur
M S
MS
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA. mpinzu1@lumc.edu
Kernan-Schroeder
D
D
Emanuele
N V
NV
Emanuel
M
M
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012775:Shoes