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Better
management of diabetic foot
ulcers needed to prevent
amputation
(ArabMedicare.com) --
Diabetic foot ulcers are the
most common cause of lower
limb amputation in the
Middle East, as well as
across the globe. Experts at
the upcoming Arab Health
Wound Care Conference in
January highlight this
hidden danger of the
diabetic epidemic and urge
patients in the Middle East
to take responsibility for
the management of their
diabetes. Worldwide
statistics suggest that up
to 25% of those with
diabetes will develop a foot
ulcer and more than half of
all foot ulcers will become
infected, requiring
hospitalization and 1 in 5
will require an amputation.
“Amputation prevention
needs to start with
education at the primary
healthcare level,” says
Jan-Marie Morgan, Practice
Development Nurse –
Surgery, Rashid Hospital,
Dubai, and Chair of the
Middle East Wound Care
Conference taking place on
23 January 2012 at the Arab
Health Exhibition &
Congress in Dubai. “When
patients are diagnosed with
diabetes, they have a
responsibility to learn as
much as they can about
preventing the complications
of uncontrolled blood sugar,
such as blindness, kidney
failure and amputation. We,
as health care
professionals, also have a
responsibility to offer all
the education that is
required for a person with
Diabetes to live a long and
happy life.”
“I would love to be in the
prevention business, but
instead we are often trying
to fix serious problems that
were totally preventable
from the beginning. People
in the UAE are admitted to
the hospital with severe
foot infections or gangrene,
and by that point it is
often too late to help them,”
she adds.
According to the Southern
Arizona Limb Salvage
Alliance or SALSA, USA,
poorly controlled diabetes
frequently results in nerve
damage and poor circulation
to the legs and feet.
Patients gradually lose
their ability to sense foot
pain or symptoms of injury.
This loss of protective
sensation makes it easy for
blisters, cuts, and sores to
go unnoticed, leading to
infection, foot ulcers,
reduced mobility, and often
major amputation.
“Diabetic foot care is not
only a major issue for
diabetic patients, but it
may also pose a massive
burden on our healthcare
system,” says Ms. Morgan.
“At the Middle East Wound
Care Conference, we will be
discussing the economic
sense of good wound care
management, as well as
topics such as nutrition,
education and best practice
in wound care.”
Sources:
(1) Singh, Armstrong, Lipsky.
J Amer Med Assoc 2005
(2) Lavery, Armstrong, et
al. Diabetes Care 2006
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