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About Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU)
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are chronic wounds that can develop on the foot or lower extremities of people with diabetes. DFUs often occur from complications of diabetes-specifically, peripheral neuropathy, a condition in which feeling, or sensation, is lost due to reduced blood flow to the lower extremities.1 Among people with diabetes, approximately 15% experience a DFU in their lifetime,1 and approximately 2.5% develop a DFU each year.2
If not properly treated, DFUs can result in serious complications, including amputation. In fact, of those patients who do develop a DFU, 14% to 24% will require an amputation.1 In the United States, approximately 60% of all lower extremity amputations occur among persons with diabetes; of these amputations, approximately 85% are preceded by a foot ulcer.3,4 Additionally, the rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.3
"Any wound that remains unhealed after 4 weeks is cause for concern, as it is associated with worse outcomes, including amputation.1"
— American Diabetes Association Consensus Development
Conference on Diabetic Wound Care
References:
1. Consensus Development Conference on Diabetic Foot Wound Care. Diabetes Care. 1999;22(8):1354-1360.
2. Sheehan P, Jones P, Caselli A, Giurini JM, Veves A. Percent change in wound area of diabetic foot ulcers over a 4-week period is a robust predictor of complete healing in 12-week prospective trial. Diabetes Care. 2003;26(6):1879-1882.
3. American Diabetes Association. Complications of diabetes in the United States.
Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/complications.jsp. Accessed February 22, 2008.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. History of foot ulcer among persons with diabetes - United States, 2000-2002. Atlanta, Ga: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2003.
Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5245a3.htm. Accessed October 25, 2006.
