Diabetic Foot Problems: Inpatient Management of Diabetic Foot Problems

Excerpt

Despite the publication of strategies on commissioning specialist services for the management and prevention of diabetic foot problems in hospital (‘Putting feet first’, Diabetes UK 2009; ‘Improving emergency and inpatient care for people with diabetes’, Department of Health 2008), there is variation in practice in the inpatient management of diabetic foot problems. This variation is due to a range of factors, including differences in the organisation of care between patients' admission to an acute care setting and discharge. This variability depends on geography, individual trusts, individual specialties (such as whether the service is managed by vascular surgery, general surgery, orthopaedics, diabetologists or general physicians) and the availability of podiatrists with expertise in diabetic foot disease.

This short clinical guideline aims to provide guidance on the key components of inpatient care of people with diabetic foot problems from hospital admission onwards.