title: Risk assessment of the diabetic foot and wound.
abstract: Diabetic foot ulcers are among the most common severe complications of diabetes, affecting up to 68 per 1,000 persons with diabetes per year in the United States. Over half of these patients develop an infection and 20% require some form of amputation during the course of their malady. The key risk factors of diabetic foot ulceration include neuropathy, deformity and repetitive stress (trauma). The key factors associated with non healing of diabetic foot wounds (and therefore amputation) include wound depth, presence of infection and presence of ischaemia. This manuscript will discuss these key risk factors and briefly outline steps for simple, evidence-based assessment of risk in this population.
authors.affiliation: Dr William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Armstrong
mesh_terms: D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology