Javeria Shaikh

By Imran Ali Shaikh, Naila Masood Sddiqui and Javeria Hameed Shaikh

Foot problems are commonly involved in diabetes, and the most common presentation of diabetes is an ulcer. Diabetic foot ulcer is a complex problem caused by reduced blood supply, nerve damage, or infection. But unfortunately in most of cases, these three factors have played a role for impairment of diabetic feet. Sometimes nerve damage or neuropathy is an initial insult, and multiple times ischemia is the leading factor for ulcer formation. After certain period, infection finally supervenes and makes a sterile ulcer to infected leads to loss of limb or foot. This becomes more complicated because of less pronounced ischemic symptoms in diabetic than non-diabetics. Furthermore, the healing of a neuroischemic ulcer is slowed down by microvascular dysfunction. Therefore, some ulcers can get better by revascularization, but pure ischemic ulcers rarely respond to revascularization. Many guidelines have largely ignored these specific demands related to ulcerated neuroischemic diabetic feet. Any diabetic foot ulcer should always be considered to have vascular impairment unless otherwise proven. This chapter highlights the best way to diagnose and treat these patients with diabetic foot ulcer. Most of the studies dealing with neuroischemic diabetic feet are not comparable in terms of patient populations, interventions, or outcomes. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in diabetic foot care, that is, a new approach and classification of diabetics with foot ulcer in regard to clinical practice and research.

Part of the book: The Eye and Foot in Diabetes