title: New horizons in the understanding of the causes and management of diabetic foot disease: report from the 2017 Diabetes UK Annual Professional Conference Symposium.
abstract: Diabetes-related foot disease remains a common problem. For wounds, classic teaching recommends the treatment of any infection, offloading the wound and ensuring a good blood supply, as well as ensuring that the other modifiable risk factors are addressed and optimized. There remain, however, several questions about these and other aspects of the care of diabetes-related foot disease. Some of these questions are addressed in the present report; in particular, the impact of newer technologies in the identification of any organisms present in a wound, as well as the use of novel approaches to treat infections. The use of new remote sensing technology to identify people at risk of developing foot ulceration is also considered, in an attempt to allow early intervention and prevention of foot ulcers. The psychological impact of foot disease is often overlooked, but with an increasing number of publications on the subject, the cause-and-effect role that psychology plays in foot disease, such as ulcers and Charcot neuroarthropathy, is considered. Finally, because of heterogeneity in diabetic foot studies, comparing results is difficult. A recently published document focusing on ensuring a standardized way of reporting foot disease trials is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clokie
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Greenway
authors.affiliation: Medical School, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Welsh Wound Innovation Centre, Rhodfa Marics, Ynysmaerdy, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Psychology, Division of Primary Care, Nottingham University, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vedhara
authors.affiliation: Department of Diabetes, Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Game
authors.affiliation: Elsie Bertram Diabetes Centre, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Dhatariya
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000639:trends; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D006113:United Kingdom; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*