The prevention of foot ulceration in diabetic patients.
Diabetic foot ulcerations are a costly and common public health challenge. Although several organizations have emphasized the need to increase awareness of this problem and called health care providers to action to decrease the incidence of ulceration and amputation, there is limited evidence regarding what interventions are best suited to accomplish this goal. This article reviews the pathogenesis, risk factors, and current interventions that have been studied for the prevention of foot ulceration. Preventive measures with evidence for decreasing incidence of ulceration include patient education, offloading abnormal pressures with foot orthotics, and thermal monitoring.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA. ileana.howard@va.gov
Ileana M
IM
Howard
D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000379:methods / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods