title: [Epidemiology of diabetic foot].
abstract: Diabetes is one of the most common diseases and, in many developing and newly industrialized countries, the epidemic is growing at a dizzying rate. The main problems for diabetics are related to chronic complications of the disease. Among the complications of diabetes, the diabetic foot is gaining a new importance because it implies for diabetics the highest number of hospital admissions and considerable costs. In fact, about 15% of diabetics will experience in their life a foot ulcer. The greatest risk for these patients is the amputation. According to several studies, about 25-50% of diabetic patients receive immediate amputation at the time of the first visit due to the infection. Overall, it is estimated that approximately 50-70% of all lower limb amputations are due to diabetes. Therefore, diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic amputation of the lower limb in western countries, with a risk in diabetic patients 15 times higher than non-diabetics.
authors.affiliation: Unita Operativa di Malattie Infettive, Ospedale Mater Salutis, Legnago, Vicenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pascale
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esposito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017678:Sex Distribution