Search Results
Background: Several studies have established an association between diabetic neuropathy and depressive symptoms. There is a link between depression and peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients, suggesting an increased likelihood that diabetic patients will experience depressive symptoms related to lower-extremity peripheral neuropathy and arthritis during middle age and later life. The goal of this investigation was to determine whether there are age differences between insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients regarding their feelings of hopelessness and toe pain.
Methods: A large population-based sample of 32,006 adults from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey was analyzed with multivariate statistical procedures. We performed χ2 and correlation procedures to test the null hypothesis that there are no age or sex differences between insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients in their reporting of feelings of hopelessness and toe pain symptoms in the previous 12 months.
Results: There were significant differences between age and sex groups of insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients in reporting feelings of hopelessness and toe pain symptoms, rejecting the null hypothesis. Correlational analysis conducted between the variables of hopelessness and toe pain yielded significant correlations in insulin-dependent (r = .28; P = .0009; α = .05), and non-insulin-dependent (r = 0.19; P = .001; α = .05) women older than 61 years, concluding that diabetic women are more likely to experience hopelessness and toe pain in that age group regardless of insulin status.
Conclusions: Clinicians should incorporate depression and toe pain symptoms into their assessment and treatment, especially in diabetic women older than 61 years. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 100(6): 445–451, 2010)
High plantar pressures contribute to skin breakdown in patients with diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the point during the stance phase of walking that corresponds with forefoot peak plantar pressures. Results indicate that peak plantar pressures occurred at 80% +/- 5% of the stance phase of gait in subjects with diabetes and transmetatarsal amputation, as well as in control subjects. Improved methods of footwear design or walking strategies proposed to patients should focus on the demands of the foot during the late stance phase of walking in order to increase available weightbearing area or to decrease forces, which will minimize plantar pressures and reduce trauma to the neuropathic foot.
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving significant change in the healthcare system and disrupting the best practices for diabetic limb preservation, leaving large numbers of patients without care. Patients with diabetes and foot ulcers are at increased risk for infections, hospitalization, amputations, and death. Podiatric care is associated with fewer diabetes-related amputations, ER visits, hospitalizations, length-of-stay, and costs. But podiatrists must mobilize and adopt the new paradigm of shifts away from hospital care to community-based care. Implementing the proposed Pandemic Diabetic Foot Triage System, in-home visits, higher acuity office visits, telemedicine, and remote patient monitoring can help podiatrists manage patients while reducing the COVID-19 risk. The goal of podiatrists during the pandemic is to reduce the burden on the healthcare system by keeping diabetic foot and wound patients safe, functional, and at home.
Background:
We investigated the validity of probe-to-bone testing in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in a selected subgroup of patients clinically suspected of having diabetic foot osteomyelitis.
Methods:
Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008, inpatients and outpatients with a diabetic foot ulcer were prospectively evaluated, and those having a clinical diagnosis of foot infection and at least one of the osteomyelitis clinical suspicion criteria were consecutively included in this study.
Results:
Sixty-five patients met the inclusion criteria and were prospectively enrolled in the study. Forty-nine patients (75.4%) were hospitalized, and the remaining 16 (24.6%) were followed as outpatients. Osteomyelitis was diagnosed in 39 patients (60.0%). Probe-to-bone test results were positive in 30 patients (46.1%). The positive predictive value for the probe-to-bone test was fairly high (87%), but the negative predictive value was only 62%. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 66% and 84%, respectively. White blood cell counts and mean C-reactive protein levels did not statistically significantly differ between groups. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rates greater than 70 mm/h reached statistical significance between groups. Wound area and depth were not found to be statistically significantly different between groups.
Conclusions:
Positive probe-to-bone test results and erythrocyte sedimentation rates greater than 70 mm/h provide some support for the diagnosis of diabetic foot osteomyelitis, but it is not strong; magnetic resonance imaging or bone biopsy will probably be required in cases of doubt. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 102(5): 369–373, 2012)
