Journal
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
Volume 117, Issue 7, Pages 193S-209SPublisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/01.prs.0000225459.93750.29
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- NIDDK NIH HHS [DK59424] Funding Source: Medline
- NLM NIH HHS [LM08443] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES [K08DK059424] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE [R01LM008443] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Background: Diabetic foot ulcers are the single biggest risk factor for nontraumatic foot amputations in persons with diabetes. Foot ulcers occur in 12 to 25 percent of persons with diabetes and precede 84 percent of all nontraumatic amputations in this growing population. Because of the high incidence of foot ulcers, amputations remain a source of morbidity and mortality in persons with diabetes. Strict adherence to evidence-based protocols as described herein will prevent the majority of these amputations. Methods: The collective experience of treating patients with neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers in four major diabetic foot programs in the United States and Europe was analyzed. Results: The following protocol was developed for patients with diabetic foot ulcers: (1) establishment of good communication among the patient, the wound healing team, and the primary medical doctor; (2) comprehensive, protocol-driven care of the entire patient, including hemoglobin A1c, microalbuminuria, and cholesterol as well as early treatment of retinopathy, nephropathy, and cardiac disease; (3) weekly objective measurement of the wound with digital photography, planimetry, and documentation of the wound-healing process using the Wound Electronic Medical Record, if available; (4) objective evaluation of blood flow in the lower extremities (e.g., noninvasive flow studies); (5) debridement of hyperkeratotic, infected, and nonviable tissue; (6) use of systemic antibiotics for deep infection, drainage, and cellulitis; (7) off-loading; (8) maintenance of a moist wound bed; (9) use of growth factor and/or cellular therapy if the wound is not healing after 3 weeks with this protocol; and (10) consideration of the use of vacuum-assisted therapy in complex wounds. Conclusions: In diabetic foot ulcers, availability of the above modalities, in combination with early recognition and comprehensive treatment, ensures rapid healing, minimizes morbidity and mortality rates, and eliminates toe and limb amputations in the absence of ischemia and osteomyelitis.
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