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Objectives - To understand the relationship between plantar pressures and the ulcers' occurrence in individuals with neuropathic diabetic foot, using this factor as a possible method of risk assessment and identification. To investigate the association between the epidemiological data and the ulcer's occurrence. To identify an indicative value for its occurrence. Methods - A quantitative cross-sectional, correlational, and epidemiological study was carried out by collecting sociodemographic and clinical information from the participants and conducting sensitivity tests to identify neuropathy. The sample (N = 60) was divided into two groups: neuropathic diabetics and non-neuropathic diabetics. Podological evaluations were performed using a baropodometric platform, and later statistical analyses were made with the results obtained. Results - There is an association between age, gender, and increased BMI with the occurrence of neuropathy. More than half of the diabetic population in the study has associated peripheral neuropathy. The presence of deformities in the feet of the individuals in the sample was shown to have an influence on the occurrence of ulcer, as well as PPP and IPT values. It can be assumed that the value 88.06 kPa is a reference value for the development of an ulcer. Conclusions - There is a relationship between PP and the occurrence of ulcers. Podological analysis on a baropodometric platform allows us to understand whether or not the patient is at risk of developing an ulcer. This study shows a possible PPP value that serves as an indicator of the development of an ulcer on a diabetic foot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide public health problem, it is estimated that the risk of microvascular complications in diabetics is about 10 to 20 times higher than in subjects without diabetes and the relative risk of macrovascular complications is greater than 2 to 4 times than individuals without the disease. Foot infection is related to the duration of the disease and the management of diabetic ulcers requires an understanding of the pathophysiology, together with a multimodal approach to infection control and care. With this it is important to define the treatment in the most appropriate nowadays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic foot ulcers have been receiving increased attention due to the severity of the situations and the large number of diabetic patients, whose prevalence exceeds 10% of the Portuguese population. The lack of feet vigilance among diabetic patients is an actual problem which limits the identification of risk factors, prevention and early intervention. To overcome this problem, nurses need to be familiar with and perform procedures for regular vigilance and assessment of the risk for ulceration in diabetic patients. Therefore, this paper aims to update knowledge on diabetic foot and characterise the process of assessing the risk for foot ulceration in diabetic patients. Recent scientific papers, reports, monographs and guidelines published on this topic were analysed. Despite the different opinions and differences, we concluded that the theoretical frameworks found are a sufficiently sound basis for nursing intervention, and that the existing legal framework is relatively simple, objective and achievable. The assessment of the risk for diabetic foot ulceration is within the reach of family nurses, particularly regarding the competences of level 1 teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of an ulcerated diabetic foot was documented photographically. We adapted the ultrasonographic tissue characterization (USTC or CATUS) technique to develop a photographic image tissue characterization (p-IMTC or CATIM) method. Five photographs, taken during medical treatment of an ulcerated diabetic foot following digital amputation, were quantified using imaging software designed to determine brightness intensity in grey scale images. The grey scale median (GSM) changed from 127 to 98; 86; 76; and 83 (out of 255) during follow-up. The area of lesion was estimated by number of pixels and reduced from 17.85 cm² to 12.44; 3.68; 2.11; and 0.15 cm². The percentage of total number of pixels showing granulation tissue increased from 11% to 34%; 56%; 62%; and 75%. p-IMTC quantified treatment progress. GSM quantified generalized changes in tissues, while the area of lesion and granulation tissue were documented quantitatively. Lesions, ulcers, wounds or other tissues can be analyzed using p-IMTC, allowing quantification, characterization and control of the progression of a condition or treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]