A collaborative care approach to complex diabetic foot ulceration.

摘要

This article highlights the complex issues that surround the management of diabetic foot ulceration. It describes how the disciplines of podiatry and tissue viability came together to care for a patient who required complex wound management. The importance of collaborative working is highlighted, which has been shown to reduce amputation rates by 50% (Edmonds, 2002). Through exploration of a case study, certain issues emerged--wound infection, wound management, psychosocial factors and teamworking--and these are discussed. The link between diabetic foot ulceration and amputation is explored and the argument put forward that amputation should have been the first choice for this patient bearing in mind that 30% of amputees lose their second leg within 5 years (Geary, 2002).