Practical Criteria for Screening Patients at High Risk for Diabetic Foot Ulceration

Abstract
FOOT ULCERATION is one of the most common precursors to lower extremity amputations among persons with diabetes mellitus.1,2 Ulcerations are pivotal events in limb loss for 2 important reasons. They allow an avenue for infection, and they can cause progressive tissue necrosis and poor wound healing in the presence of critical ischemia. Infections involving the foot rarely develop in the absence of a wound in adults with diabetes, and ulcers are the most common type of wound in these patients.3 Foot ulcers, therefore, play a central role in lower extremity amputation. Clearly, the identification of an increased risk for ulceration is of central importance in any plan for amputation prevention.