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Objective: Acute Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy (CN) is highly destructive, causing bone and joint damage that can result in devastating structural changes to the foot. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of assessment, diagnosis and management of people with acute CN attending a large regional Australian health service., Design: Three-year retrospective medical record audit., Setting: Large regional health service with catchment area of >250 000 people in regional Australia., Participants: People with acute CN who attended emergency, orthopaedic clinics or High Risk Foot Clinic (HRFC)., Main Outcome Measures: Participant characteristics and acute CN assessment, diagnosis and management characteristics. Trends in characteristics were investigated according to rurality as measured by the Modified Monash Model (MMM) scale., Results: Seventeen participants (20 presentations) of acute CN were identified. Mean age was 57.1 ± 10.8 years, with 11 female participants. Median duration to seek help was 31 (IQR 14-47) days. Total Contact Casting was undertaken for 85% of cases, with those who resided in MMM1-2 regions experienced significantly shorter time to TCC therapy compared to those residing in MMM3-7 regions (U = 3.0, p < 0.01). Resolution of acute CN with or without deformity occurred in 70% of cases., Conclusions: Those who lived in smaller regional and rural communities were more likely to experience delayed access to gold standard treatment for acute CN. Regional models of care for acute CN should include activities to improve the knowledge of people at risk of acute CN about the condition and upskill regional health professionals for timely and local TCC therapy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.)

Regular physical activity is an important component of diabetes management. However, there are limited data on the habitual physical activity of people with or at risk of diabetes-related foot complications. The aim of this study was to describe the habitual physical activity of people with or at risk of diabetes-related foot complications in regional Australia. Twenty-three participants with diabetes from regional Australia were recruited with twenty-two participants included in subsequent analyses: no history of ulcer (N = 11) and history of ulcer (N = 11). Each participant wore a triaxial accelerometer (GT3X+; ActiGraph LLC, Pensacola, FL, USA) on their non-dominant wrist for 14 days. There were no significant differences between groups according to both participant characteristics and physical activity outcomes. Median minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were 9.7 (IQR: 1.6-15.7) while participants recorded an average of 280 ± 78 min of low-intensity physical activity and 689 ± 114 min of sedentary behaviour. The sample accumulated on average 30 min of slow walking and 2 min of fast walking per day, respectively. Overall, participants spent very little time performing MVPA and were largely sedentary. It is important that strategies are put in place for people with or at risk of diabetes-related foot complications in order that they increase their physical activity significantly in accordance with established guidelines.

A 66-year-old man was admitted to a hospital rehabilitation unit for the management of chronic groin pain. Since the groin pain began, he had been unable to bear weight on his right foot. During a podiatric examination, the patient reported sharp pain at the apex of his right hallux. A full podiatric assessment was undertaken to evaluate his vascular, neurologic, and biomechanical status. The patient's ankle-brachial index was found to be 0.34 in the right lower limb and 0.68 in the left lower limb. After vascular assessment, the patient was diagnosed as having chronic ischemia of the right leg. He underwent left-to-right femoral-to-femoral bypass graft surgery to salvage the right lower leg and foot.