A decision pathway for the staged management of foot problems in diabetes mellitus.

Abstract

This review describes a decision pathway for the conservative management of foot problems in persons with diabetes mellitus. The decision pathway was developed by the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Diabetes Foot Program as part of the Statewide Diabetes Disease Management Initiative to standardize foot care in a medically underserved population. The pathway describes the prevention and/or management of foot problems through 5 clinical subpathways: injury prevention, warm swollen foot, ulcer, osteomyelitis, and remodeling. The pathway provides physiatrists and other rehabilitation practitioners with a framework to evaluate and manage neuropathic foot problems in a multidisciplinary setting.