J Korean Diabetes.  2024 Mar;25(1):35-41. 10.4093/jkd.2024.25.1.35.

Prevention of Diabetic Foot and Treatment of Pre-Ulcerative Signs

• Son JW

• KMID: 2554119
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2024.25.1.35

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions and is expected to affect nearly 800 million people worldwide by 2045. Diabetes entails many complications; diabetic foot is among the most notorious complications. It requires complex long-term treatments and often has a high rate of relapse. Diabetic foot significantly threatens patient quality of life and imposes a considerable economic burden on both patients and healthcare systems. Therefore, prevention of diabetic foot is essential. It is important to identify patients at-risk of diabetic foot through regular check-ups and assessments. At-risk diabetic foot patients should be educated about foot self-care, appropriate footwear, and pre-ulcerative signs. Once pre-ulcerative lesions are found, swift intervention by trained professionals is necessary. Multidisciplinary collaboration in education of diabetic patients about diabetic foot is recommended and should consistently support patients in managing foot self-care.

Keyword

Diabetic foot; Education; Foot ulcer; Secondary prevention

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Areas of the foot at highest risk for ulceration. Adapted from the article of Schaper et al. (Diabetes Metab Res Rev 2023;27:e3657) [1] under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

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  Fig. 2. Excess callus on plantar.

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  Fig. 3. Ingrown/thickened toenails, suspicious of fungal infections.

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  Fig. 4. Blister on heel.

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  Fig. 5. Color change on 2nd toe, blisters on 3rd∼5th toe.

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  Fig. 6. Fissures of foot due to very dry skin. (Left) A fissure on heel. (Right) A fissure on plantar.

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  Fig. 7. Callus removal of subcutaneous hemorrhage without an ulcer. (Left) Before callus removal. (Right) No wound found underneath the subcutaneous hemorrhage.

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  Fig. 8. Callus removal of subcutaneous hemorrhage with an ulcer. (Left) Before callus removal. (Right) An ulcer found underneath the subcutaneous hemorrhage.

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