Stratification of foot ulcer risk in patients with diabetes: A population-based study

Graham P. Leese*, F. Reid, V. Green, R. Mcalpine, S. Cunningham, A. M. Emslie-Smith, A. D. Morris, B. Mcmurray, A. C. Connacher

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

This trial assessed whether a simple clinical tool can be used to stratify patients with diabetes, according to risk of developing foot ulceration. This was a prospective, observational follow-up study of 3526 patients with diabetes (91% type 2 diabetes) attending for routine diabetes care. Mean age was 64.7 (range 15-101) years and duration of diabetes was 8.8 (±1.5 SD) years. Patients were categorised into 'low' 64%),'moderate' (23%) or 'high' (13%) risk of developing foot ulcers by trained staff using five clinical criteria during routine patient care. During follow-up (1.7 years), 166 (4.7%) patients developed an ulcer. Foot ulceration was 83 times more common in high risk and six times more in moderate risk, compared with low-risk patients. The negative predictive value of a 'low-risk score' was 99.6% (99.5-99.7%; 95% confidence interval). This clinical tool accurately predicted foot ulceration in routine practice and could be used direct scarce podiatry resources towards those at greatest need.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)541-545
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Journal of Clinical Practice
Volume60
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2006

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Diabetes
  • Foot
  • Neuropathy
  • Peripheral vascular disease
  • Ulcer

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