scholarly journals Investigating The Lived Experience of People With Diabetic Foot Ulcers Receiving Podiatry Care in a Tertiary Hospital Clinic

Author(s):  
Emilee Kim Ming Ong ◽  
Caroline Fryer ◽  
Kristin Graham ◽  
Ryan Scott Causby

Abstract Background: Diabetic foot ulcers can have physical, social, emotional, and financial impacts on the daily life and wellbeing of many people living with diabetes. Effective treatment of diabetic foot ulcers requires a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach involving a podiatrist, other healthcare professionals, and the person with diabetes however, limited research has been conducted on the lived experience of managing a diabetic foot ulcer with podiatry treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the lived experience of receiving podiatric treatment for diabetic foot ulcers in a tertiary care outpatient setting. Methods: Participants with diabetic foot ulcers were purposively recruited from the outpatient podiatry clinic at a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan region of South Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insight into the lived experience of people receiving podiatric treatment for their foot ulcer. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis method. Results: Ten participants were interviewed. All were male, with mean age of 69 (SD 15) years and currently undergoing podiatric treatment for a diabetic foot ulcer in a tertiary care setting. Four themes were identified that provide an understanding of the lived experience of participants: ‘Trusting the podiatrists with the right expertise’, ‘Personalised information’, ‘Happy with the service, not the equipment’, and ‘It’s a long journey’. Participants perceived professional behaviour and demonstrated expertise as key to trusting a podiatrist’s care. Information tailored to individual needs was helpful for participants. Offloading devices and ulcer dressings were often burdensome. Podiatric treatment for foot ulcers was a lengthy and onerous experience for all participants. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest podiatrists can use practical strategies of maintaining consistency in who provides podiatry care for the person, demonstration of high organisational and hygiene standards, and using innovation to adapt information and equipment to suit an individual’s lifestyle to support positive experiences of podiatric ulcer care. There is a need for further research to understand how a person’s experience of podiatric ulcer treatment differs between genders and healthcare settings to facilitate positive care experiences and reduce treatment burden for all people with diabetes requiring podiatric ulcer treatment.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. S20-S26
Author(s):  
Dewi Elizadiani Suza ◽  
Tengku Eltrikanawati ◽  
Rosina Tarigan ◽  
Setiawan ◽  
Joko Gunawan

Background: A foot ulcer is a severe complications of diabetes, and patients' cultural backgrounds can greatly influence how they manage this condition. Aim: To explore the experience of people of the Batak Karo ethnic group in Indonesia in diabetic foot ulcer treatment. Methods: This was a phenomenological study where a purposeful sample of 10 people with diabetic foot ulcers participated in in-depth interviews. Data analysis was thematic using Van Manen's hermeneutic approach. Results: Five themes emerged from the study data: beliefs about health disorders; physical, psychological, social and spiritual changes; traditional treatments; cultural beliefs; and seeking health services. Discussion: People in the Batak Karo ethnic group strongly believe in supernatural powers and magic, and take part in a variety of traditional ceremonies to treat diabetic foot ulcers. They also use traditional treatments, including herbs. Nurses treating different ethnic groups, such as the Batak Karo people, should be culturally aware and competent to provide adequate care for them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Hamza ◽  
Thomas K. Thomas

Background: Diabetes is one of the commonest diseases worldwide and diabetic foot ulcer and its complications are associated with significant morbidity and even amputation. Early detection of colonizing agent of these ulcers help in reduced morbidity and hospital stay. We targeted this subgroup of patients to study Wagner’s grade, identify the bacterial agent and its antibiotic sensitivity and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) assessment to detect PAD, for the best treatment outcome of diabetic foot ulcers.Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Surgery of SGMCRF, Venjaramoodu on 210 patients with diabetic foot ulcers between November 2017 and May 2019. Wagner’s grading of ulcer, culture and antibiotic sensitivity of microbe were done as well as ABPI was measured. Outcome of ulcers was compared to ABPI and ABPI was compared to time of healing.Results: Out of 210 patients 122 were males and 88 females, 62.9% had neuropathy and 66.7% had vasculopathy. Most patients presented with Wagner’s grade-II ulcers.  Most common microbe isolated was pseudomonas aeruginosa which was most sensitive to piperacillin and tazobactam combination. Majority of lesions 62.9% had ABPI in range of 0.5-0.89.Conclusions: Wagner’s grading and presence of neuropathy are predictors of major amputation. Piperacillin and tazobactam should be empirical choice of antibiotic. ABPI was inversely related to time of healing and has got significant association with treatment outcome.


2021 ◽  
pp. 193229682199009
Author(s):  
Brian M. Schmidt

One of the most prevalent complications of diabetes mellitus are diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Diabetic foot ulcers represent a complex condition placing individuals at-risk for major lower extremity amputations and are an independent predictor of patient mortality. DFU heal poorly when standard of care therapy is applied. In fact, wound healing occurs only approximately 30% within 12 weeks and only 45% regardless of time when standard of care is utilized. Similarly, diabetic foot infections occur in half of all DFU and conventional microbiologic cultures can take several days to process before a result is known. DFU represent a significant challenge in this regard because DFU often demonstrate polymicrobial growth, become resistant to preferred antibiotic therapy, and do not inform providers about long-term prognosis. In addition, conventional culture yields may be affected by the timing of antibiotic administration and collection of tissue for analysis. This may lead to suboptimal antibiotic administration or debilitating amputations. The microbiome of DFU is a new frontier to better understand the interactions between host organisms and pathogenic ones. Newer molecular techniques are readily available to assist in analyzing the constituency of the microbiome of DFU. These emerging techniques have already been used to study the microbiome of DFU and have clinical implications that may alter standard of care practice in the near future. Here emerging molecular techniques that can provide clinicians with rapid DFU-related-information and help prognosticate outcomes in this vulnerable patient population are presented.


Author(s):  
Marta Carmena-Pantoja ◽  
Francisco Javier Álvaro-Afonso ◽  
Esther García-Morales ◽  
Yolanda García-Álvarez ◽  
Aroa Tardáguila-García ◽  
...  

The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of radiographic arterial calcification (RAC) on clinical outcomes and wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers complicated by osteomyelitis treated by surgery. We analyzed retrospectively the clinical records of 102 patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis who underwent surgery at a specialized diabetic foot unit between January 2014 and December 2016. The clinical data of evolution until its complete epithelialization and a follow-up 1 year were reviewed, and after reviewing the radiological images, patients were classified into 2 groups: those with RAC and those without RAC. We analyzed several clinical features in both groups. The presence of RAC was associated with a greater time of healing (10.68 ± 7.24 vs 8.11 ± 4.50 weeks; P = .029) and shorter time to recurrence and reulceration (13.30 ± 9.25 vs 18.81 ± 11.63 weeks; P = .036). However, this association was not found for patients with mild and moderate peripheral artery disease (PAD), whose time of healing was 8.97 ± 4.51 weeks compared to 9.16 ± 6.39 weeks for patients without PAD; P = .864. The time of healing of diabetic foot ulcers complicated by osteomyelitis treated by surgery can be negatively affected by the presence of RAC even more than by the presence of mild and moderate ischemia. The presence of RAC may offer clinical guidance at the level of primary care though this would need thorough validation in future studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 88-96
Author(s):  
Chhajed Shweta ◽  
Arora Asha

Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) is one of the major complications of Diabetes. Patients with Diabetic Foot ulcers have a high susceptibility to microbial infections and are the leading cause of hospitalization and amputation of lower limbs. In the era of increased prevalence of bacterial resistance and outbreak of resistant infectious diseases, it is very essential to develop effective therapeutic strategies towards multi-drug resistant pathogens. The antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles have been well studied, therefore their use in biomedicine and pharmacology is a trend. Herein we present the use of Phyto-mediated synthesized AgNPs for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers by topical administration. The nanoparticles were synthesized by reducing silver nitrate using Terminalia chebula fruit extract. The nanoparticles were analyzed and characterized using UV-Visible Spectrophotometer, FTIR, XRD, SEM with EDAX, TEM, and DLS. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were assayed for antimicrobial activity against five Diabetic Foot Ulcer bacterial isolates i.e. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. The bactericidal property of synthesized nanoparticles was analyzed by the Agar well diffusion method, which revealed the remarkable antimicrobial effects against all the selective pathogenic bacterial isolates of Diabetic foot ulcers in the present study. These results constituted the basis for further studies on the use of plant-based silver nanoparticles for the treatment of Diabetic Foot ulcers from different origins


2017 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Zhang Ming Lim ◽  
Natasha Su Lynn Ng ◽  
Cecil Thomas

The rising prevalence of diabetes estimated at 3.6 million people in the UK represents a major public health and socioeconomic burden to our National Health Service. Diabetes and its associated complications are of a growing concern. Diabetes-related foot complications have been identified as the single most common cause of morbidity among diabetic patients. The complicating factor of underlying peripheral vascular disease renders the majority of diabetic foot ulcers asymptomatic until latter evidence of non-healing ulcers become evident. Therefore, preventative strategies including annual diabetic foot screening and diabetic foot care interventions facilitated through a multidisciplinary team have been implemented to enable early identification of diabetic patients at high risk of diabetic foot complications. The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit reported significant variability and deficiencies of care throughout England and Wales, with emphasis on change in the structure of healthcare provision and commissioning, improvement of patient education and availability of healthcare access, and emphasis on preventative strategies to reduce morbidities and mortality of this debilitating disease. This review article aims to summarise major risk factors contributing to the development of diabetic foot ulcers. It also considers the key evidence-based strategies towards preventing diabetic foot ulcer. We discuss tools used in risk stratification and classifications of foot ulcer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 433-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasniati Haeruddin ◽  
Saldy Yusuf ◽  
Ilhamjaya Patellongi ◽  
Kaharuddin Abdul Rasid ◽  
Harbaeni Harkam ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Sahar Shafiee ◽  
Maryam Heidarpour ◽  
Sima Sabbagh ◽  
Elham Amini ◽  
Hanieh Saffari ◽  
...  

AbstractDiabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease associated with high cardiovascular risk. A vascular complication of diabetes is foot ulcers. Diabetic foot ulcers are prevalent and substantially reduce the quality of life of patients who have them. Currently, diabetic foot ulcer is a major problem for wound care specialists, and its treatment requires considerable health care resources. So far, various therapeutic modalities have been proposed to treat diabetic foot ulcers and one of them is stem cell-based therapy. Stem cell-based therapy has shown great promise for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. This strategy has been shown to be safe and effective in both preclinical and clinical trials. In this review, we provide an overview of the stem cell types and possible beneficial effects of stem cell transplantation therapy for diabetic foot ulcers, and an overview of the current status of stem cell research in both preclinical and clinical trial stages of treatment strategies for diabetic foot ulcers.


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