HWN Suggests

Diabetes Is Fueling an Amputation Crisis for Men in San Antonio

Diabetes has been on the rise around the world, and Latino communities in the United States have been especially hard hit. A lethal combination of genetics, poor access to health care, diets high in processed foods and sedentary lifestyles has created a crisis in places like San Antonio, a majority Mexican American city in Southern Texas, that is costing a growing number of men their feet and legs — and eventually, for some, their lives.

read full article

Featured

 Preventing a million diabetic foot amputations

Every 20 seconds someone, somewhere on the planet, loses a foot due to diabetes. Foot ulcers are the starting point of more than 80% of these amputations, and they could be prevented.

Articles of Interest

Amputation in Diabetic Patients

Foot ulcers and their complications are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetes. The present study examines the amputation risk criterion and the long term outcome in terms of amputations and mortality in patients with diabetic foot.

Diabetes and landmine related amputations: a call to arms to save limbs

The effects of landmine-related morbidity have long been the subject of intense attention by the media, governments and non-governmental organizations alike. While much remains to be done in this area, it can be argued that major advances have been made (4–6). At the other end of the spectrum, the epidemic of diabetes-related limb amputations continues its inexorable rise; despite a surprisingly high 5-year mortality associated with this preventable scourge, the lay public and press seem largely unaware and policy-makers have failed to appropriately respond. In many ways, diabetes-related amputations are strikingly similar to those associated with landmines.

Diabetic people 'having unnecessary amputations'

Parliamentary group and charity Diabetes UK call attention to wide disparity in treatment of condition across UK.

Divorced men at highest amputation risk among diabetics, study finds

Researchers speculate this may be due to change in self-care, food habits and social isolation.

Facing my fear: losing most of my right foot to diabetes

I’ve been a diabetic since 2010; for the most part, I viewed complications from the disease as a late-night punchline, albeit rarely a funny one. All of the ominous and scary crap – kidney failure, blindness, systemic shutdown of the body, loss of limbs – that my physicians warned me about were off in the distance of some murky fantasy-future. I was in my early thirties, overweight but still invincible. I’d convinced myself, mostly out of a fear-based denial, that none of this could or would happen to me.

Geographic and Ethnic Inequalities in Diabetes-Related Amputations

Individuals with diabetes mellitus are at increasing risk for major lower-extremity amputations (LEAs). Poor quality of life and remarkable disabilities are associated with LEAs, determining a high economic burden for the healthcare systems. Reducing LEAs is therefore a primary marker of quality of care of the diabetic foot.

Many diabetic foot amputations are preventable

Limb-salvage experts say many of the 80,000-plus amputations of toes, feet and lower legs that diabetics undergo each year are preventable if only patients got the right care for their feet. Yet they're frustrated that so few do until they're already on what's called the stairway to amputation, suffering escalating foot problems because of a combination of ignorance — among patients and doctors — and payment hassles.

Recovering From a Diabetes-Related Amputation

Managing diabetes and taking care of your feet is extremely important to prevent a lower-limb amputation (LLA). But for some people living with diabetes, an LLA may be the only safe treatment for a severe infection. With time and practice, you can adjust and live a healthy lifestyle after an LLA.

Reducing Amputations in People with Diabetes (RAPID): Evaluation of a New Care Pathway

The RAPID project was made up of two phases: firstly, to evaluate the technical feasibility of a new integrated care pathway using innovative technology, and secondly, to establish process enhancement of the pathway to justify a larger-scale study. Omni-HubTM enabled a face-to-face consultation by the community podiatrist to be enhanced by virtual consultation with members of the multidisciplinary foot team, including specialist diabetes podiatrists and a diabetes consultant.

Risk factors affecting amputation in diabetic foot

Osteomyelitis, peripheral artery disease, chronic kidney disease, ulcer size, and forefoot ulcer location were risk factors for amputation in diabetic foot patients.

Treatment of the diabetic foot – to amputate or not?

Diabetic foot infections are a frequent clinical problem. About 50% of patients with diabetic foot infections who have foot amputations die within five years. Properly managed most can be cured, but many patients needlessly undergo amputations because of improper diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.