Podiatry

Criteria for a diabetic patient’s therapeutic footwear. Since 1993 Medicare has covered therapeutic shoes for diabetic patients. Within 5 years of the benefit’s availability, a report from the Office of the Inspector General of the United States found that 57% of paid claims had missing or inadequate documentation, while an …

  From Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief, Diabetes In Control: Most of us are used to standing on our feet for long hours each day, whether it’s behind a pharmacy counter, going from exam room to exam room, or lecturing in a classroom. At the end of the day nothing feels as …

Six weeks may be just enough…. Little is known about the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO). French researchers compared the effectiveness of 6 versus 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy in patients with DFO treated nonsurgically (i.e., antibiotics alone). This was a prospective randomized trial comparing …

According to consensus guidelines, relieving pressure on the foot through the use of off-loading improves healing outcomes and reduces complications in patients with diabetic foot ulcers… “The Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Through Optimal Off-Loading – Building Consensus Guidelines and Practical Recommendations to Improve Outcomes,” was authored by a multidisciplinary …

A patient of mine who had diabetes and peripheral neuropathy came home from the hospital after a below-the-knee amputation of her right leg. She lived alone and was housebound. Having lost one leg, I knew she was at increased risk for losing her other leg. While in rehab, she had …

Rudy Bilous, MD, FRCP Richard Donnelly, MD, PHD, FRCP, FRACP The high-risk diabetic foot The lifetime risk of a person with diabetes developing foot ulceration is around 25%. Recent studies suggest that the population-based incidence of diabetic foot ulcers is 1-4% with a prevalence of 4-10%. The risk of amputation is 10–30-fold …

Deferoxamine delivered through the skin has the potential to prevent amputations… Stanford University School of Medicine researchers presented results at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress showing they have developed a drug delivered via a skin patch that can heal wounds and prevent those wounds from reoccurring. Geoffrey …

Black Americans on Medicare are three times more likely than other patients to lose a leg to amputation because of complications with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease…. Even low-risk black patients with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease faced a higher risk of amputation than most nonblack patients, according to a …

Rates for patients with diabetes are two times higher in low-income neighborhoods compared to high-income neighborhoods in California…. 

Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), an adenosine A2A receptor agonist, improves wound healing….