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Diabetic Foot Treatment Instruments

 


A diabetic foot implies peripheral vascular disorder, peripheral neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy or a combination of these. Diabetic foot conditions develop from a combination of causes, including poor blood circulation and neuropathy.

The treatment of diabetic foot depends upon the grade of diabetic foot, the level of intervention like oral or (intravenous) antibiotic, offloading techniques, IPD/OPD(Care), surgical intervention, vascular intervention, infrastructure of the hospital and expertise.

Shortage of specialists and expensive treatment have led to leg amputations, which could have been avoided. People with diabetes are upto 40 times more likely to undergo a lower leg amputation. Herein, the role of a diabetic foot expert comes in to salvage the limb. The amputation rate can be brought to as low as three per cent if timely diabetic foot treatment is available to patients.

Diabetic foot management is highly specialised work requiring exceptional dedications as one has to deal with several issues like unjury, infection, diabetes, non-healing ulcers, circulatory deficiencies and neuropathies.

"The existing orthotists in the country, who make artificial limbs, orthopaedic shoes and belts, are not fully equipped to make the diabetic foot wear as their training is incomplete in various aspects of diabetic foot problems."

To make the treatment more affordable, there is a need to have indigenous sensitometer is Rs. 22,000, the cost of an imported one is Rs 85,000. "Dhansai Lab, which manufacturers these equipment has been able to sell 500 to 1000 indigenous sensitometers with the support of DFSI, across the country in a year's time." Even indigenous foot scanners should be made available at all the centres across the country.

"The specialty can get a boost if manufacturing of diabetic foot wear and equipment for testing is regulated." Diabetic Foot Society of India (DFSI) has set up a sub committee to standardize diabetic foot care in India and bring about guidelines for diabetic footwear.

Good Manufacturing Practices should be applied to make simple, cost effective and scientific foot wear. "Government should recognize the huge gap in therapy and academics, thus, starting a certified course in podiatry, setting up a foot clinic in all public hospitals and increasing the awareness through exhibitions, electronic and print media."

Some of the problems of diabetic foot peculiar to our subcontinent is because people tend to walk barefoot.

Do we not use footwear indoors, but a large section of our population do not use it even outdoors. Patients with severe neuropathy do not have any sensation and are unable to feel pain on injuring their feet. These injuries like cuts from sharp objects and burns from hot surfaces are likely to occur both indoor and outdoor. So once a patient has poor sensation and poor blood supply in the feet, i.e., a "high risk foot", it is necessary to educate the patient and use appropriate footwear to prevent injuries and ulcers in the feet," informs Dr. Kovil

(Ref : Express Pharma Pulse dated July 21, 2005)

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