Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Review of Evaluation, Prevention, and Treatment

ABSTRACT: Diabetes mellitus is a systemic chronic disease with multiple complications, such as microvascular and macrovascular diseases. Prevalence increases with age, with a growing number of patients affected each year. The microvascular complications include, but are not limited to, neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy. Due to the increased incidence of small vessels disease in uncontrolled diabetes, many complications arise in the lower extremities, especially the foot. Lack of circulation and increased bony deformities induce multiple non-healing ulcers. Because diabetic patients are immunocompromised by default, they are prone to infection from multiple pathogenic organisms. There is a strong correlation between non-healing diabetic ulcers, amputation, and increased mortality rate if left untreated. Prevention is still a key element in decreasing the complications associated with these ulcers. This review will focus on diabetic foot ulcers, with an extensive evaluation of the literature on grading systems and associated treatment options.

Keywords: Amputation, Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Foot, osteomyelitis, Skin Ulcer