Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The diabetic foot is considered as the crossroad of degenerative complications of diabetes (neuropathy, arterial disease, deformity). This is a public health problem with socio-economic implications. The objective of this work is to illustrate the different lesions of the diabetic foot in images.

Materials and methods: We included all hospitalized patients in the Endocrinology Department of the University Hospital of Casablanca during 18 months (September 2017 to December 2018), who received pictures of their foot injuries during their hospitalization and after their consultation. There are some pictures of 8 patients that represent the main lesions of the foot in diabetics.

Observation: The diabetic foot is characterized by the complex association at varying degrees of peripheral circulatory disorders, peripheral neuropathy including loss of sensitivity and impairment of the autonomic nervous system. The diabetic foot occupies by its gravity and its cost a particular place among the complications related to diabetes. Foot lesions in diabetics, particularly ulcer, plantar perforating disease, osteitis, dry and wet gangrene, bacterial dermo-hypodermatitis, necrotizing fasciitisand Charcot’s foot, are exposed to prolonged and frequent hospitalization, which favors the professional or family withdrawal from the patient. The risk of amputation is 15 to 30 times higher in the diabetic than the non-diabetic, with amputations often iterative.

Discussion: The diabetic foot is a degenerative complication with significant clinical or socio-economic consequences. Management of the diabetic foot includes several components: early diagnosis, etiological assessment of ulcerations, treatment of the infection, medical or surgical therapeutic indications, optimization of diabetes balance, local care, education for wound discharge and prevention recurrences.