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 …
Read More »Vivo Barefoot
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 …
Read More »How Long Should the Antibiotic Therapy for Nonsurgically Treated Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis Be?
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 …
Read More »New Guidelines Recommend Off-Loading to Increase Likelihood of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing
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 …
Read More »Custom Molded Shoes: If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit…
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 …
Read More »Handbook of Diabetes, 4th Ed., Excerpt #20: Foot Problems in Diabetes
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 …
Read More »New Drug Delivery System to Heal Diabetic Foot Ulcers
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 …
Read More »African-Americans More Likely to Have Amputations
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 …
Read More »Amputation Rates Linked to Low-Income Neighborhoods in California
Rates for patients with diabetes are two times higher in low-income neighborhoods compared to high-income neighborhoods in California….
Read More »One Possible Answer to Healing Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), an adenosine A2A receptor agonist, improves wound healing….
Read More »