Patients with diabetes fear losing their limb than their life, and the Multi-disciplinary (MDT) diabetic foot care started by Prof Michael Edmonds at King’s College Hospital in London more than 40 years ago demonstrated a marked reduction in diabetes related foot complications and amputations. Subsequent implementation of similar setup in several centres globally demonstrated positive results; these standards were later adopted by the WHO and the International Diabetes Federation.
Worldwide, a major limb loss due to diabetes happens every 20 seconds and it is recognised that 80% of these amputations are avoidable. A recent census revealed a prevalence of 11.5% of people with diabetes in Indian population and about 40,000 leg amputations are currently performed annually in India, and many of these are due to diabetes. This causes immense physical, psychological, social and economic burden to the effected families.
Individual clinicians working in isolation in the developing countries such as India have limited access to the multi-disciplinary treatment advice for complex diabetic foot conditions. As a result, many patients are not receiving the optimal treatment and hence risk losing their limbs which can be avoided with timely intervention and advice.
It's time to take a step towards every diabetic foot. Let's join hands!
