Open AccessNew insights in diabetic foot infection
Author(s) -
Jean-Louis Richard,
Albert Sotto,
JeanPhilippe Lavigne
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
world journal of diabetes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1948-9358
DOI - 10.4239/wjd.v2.i2.24
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetic foot , amputation , debridement (dental) , diabetes mellitus , revascularization , intensive care medicine , antibiotic therapy , foot (prosody) , antibiotics , incidence (geometry) , surgery , linguistics , philosophy , biology , endocrinology , physics , optics , myocardial infarction , microbiology and biotechnology
Foot ulcers are common in diabetic patients, have a cumulative lifetime incidence rate as high as 25% and frequently become infected. The spread of infection to soft tissue and bone is a major causal factor for lower-limb amputation. For this reason, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential, including treatment which is both local (of the foot) and systemic (metabolic), and this requires coordination by a multidisciplinary team. Optimal treatment also often involves extensive surgical debridement and management of the wound base, effective antibiotic therapy, consideration for revascularization and correction of metabolic abnormalities such as hyperglycemia. This article focuses on diagnosis and management of diabetic foot infections in the light of recently published data in order to help clinicians in identification, assessment and antibiotic therapy of diabetic foot infections.