PREVENTION AND PUBLIC APPROACH TO DIABETIC FOOT

Diabetes among Eastern Mediterranean (EM) population above age of 20 years is around 10.5% and is ranked among the leading causes of blindness, renal failure and lower limb amputation. While 50% of EM people with diabetes will die of cardiovascular diseases. This means that in our region, there are pandemic trends in prevalence of diabetes and associated complications. Globally, people with diabetes are 25 times more likely to have a leg amputated than those without the condition, and up to 70% of all leg amputations happen to people with diabetes. Somewhere in the world, a leg is lost to diabetes every 30 seconds. Foot ulcer is the most common single precursor to lower extremity amputations among diabetics. Hyperglycemia, impaired immunologic responses, neuropathy, and peripheral arterial disease are the major predisposing factors leading to limb-threatening diabetic foot infections. Diabetic foot represents a health problem and economic burden among majority of EM Countries. Infection in a diabetic foot is limb-threatening and must be treated empirically and aggressively. Treatment of infected foot wounds is the most common reason for diabetes- related hospitalization. The good news is that up to 85 percent of diabetic amputations can be prevented. As to above challenge, the best approach for EMR is education, community awareness and prevention of diabetic foot. The public approach and education that emphasize on proper footwear and foot care are best preventive and cost-effective modalities that can be easily implemented among EM Countries. EM Countries need to strengthen national health services that promote the concept of prevention and tight control of diabetes in order to prevention diabetes complications. This also necessitates building/strengthening diabetes registry and complications.