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Preventive treatment of foot deformities in Type 1 diabetic patients aged 15–50 years – an epidemiological and prospective study
Author(s) -
BORSSÉN BENGT,
BERGENHEIM TOMMY,
LITHNER FOLKE
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2796.1996.37866000.x
Subject(s) - medicine , foot (prosody) , prospective cohort study , diabetes mellitus , diabetic foot , physical examination , epidemiology , physical therapy , population , surgery , philosophy , linguistics , environmental health , endocrinology
Objectives. To prevent worsening of foot deformities in diabetic patients. Design. A population‐based and prospective study. Subjects. All patients in the county of Umeå with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) ( n =308) aged 15–50 years. Main outcome measures. Examination and individual education was performed. Patients with the most pronounced foot deformities ( n =67) were fitted with custom‐made insoles and had repeated foot examinations. An identical examination was used at a 3‐year follow‐up. Results. Patients who were fitted with insoles had higher sensory thresholds for vibration compared to those with no insoles. They were older and had longer duration of DM. Improvement of foot deformities was significantly more common in patients after treatment with insoles than in patients without. Plantar ulcers did not occur in patients with moulded insoles. Conclusion. Information, follow‐up examinations and moulded insoles improve neuropathic foot deformities in many patients, even in those with pronounced deformities.