New insights in diabetic foot infection

Foot ulcers are common in diabetic patients, have a cumulative lifetime incidence rate as high as 25% and frequently become infected. The spread of infection to soft tissue and bone is a major causal factor for lowerlimb amputation. For this reason, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential, including treatment which is both local (of the foot) and systemic (metabolic), and this requires coordination by a multidisciplinary team. Optimal treatment also often involves extensive surgical debridement and management of the wound base, effective antibiotic therapy, consideration for revascularization and correction of metabolic abnor-malities such as hyperglycemia. This article focuses on diagnosis and management of diabetic foot infections in the light of recently published data in order to help clinicians in identification, assessment and antibiotic therapy of diabetic foot infections. (C) 2011 Baishideng. All rights reserved.