Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Diabetic foot wounds (DFW) are one of the most challenging complications of diabetes. DFW is one of the leading causes of foot ulceration and amputation in patients with diabetes mellitus. Then, a multidisciplinary approach is of a great importance in the prevention and management of DFW. Healthcare personnel, particularly nurses, have an important role in this process. The objective of our study was to evaluate nurses ‘knowledge on diabetic foot wounds management.

Patients and methods: We conducted a cross sectional study between September and November 2021. Knowledge were assessed by referring to a questionnaire based on International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) recommendations, designed to evaluate the knowledge levels of 50 nurses, working in various departments of diabetology, regarding DFW management.

Results: The average age was 30,9 years (25-58 years). There were 45 females and only 5 males. Twenty four percent of nurses reported that patients with diabetes mellitus should be referred to podiatric physicians when they developed hyperkeratosis. Sixty six percent of our population reported that hyperkeratosis may be removed by a 20 minute bathfoot. Thirty eight percent of nurses knew principal characteristics of neurological wounds. Thirty four percent of asked population were able to identify ischemic wounds. Thirty percent of nurses recognized that a wound is considered chronic when the healing process exceeds 4 to 6 weeks. Thirty four percent of respondents were familiar with chronic wound cleaning with saline physiological serum. Fourty four of nurses knew that the removal of fibrinous tissue requires mechanical debridement. Only 8% of patients knew the infected wounds classification according to Texas University systems.

Conclusion: Levels of foot care knowledge and approach are various among studies. Our study highlights the importance of foot care in patients with diabetes mellitus and the need of regular training courses for nurses.