Inflammatory Biomarkers as Predictors of Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Curr Diabetes Rev. 2021 Sep 28. doi: 10.2174/1573399817666210928144706. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDiabetic foot ulcer infection is a crucial complication associated with lower-limb amputation and postoperative mortality in individuals with diabetes mellitus. Deciding if a diabetic foot ulcer is infected in a community setting is challenging without validated point-of-care tests. Early detection of infected diabetic foot ulcers can reduce the frequency of hospitalizations, the occurrence of disability, and chances of mortality. Inflammatory biomarkers are predictors of infected diabetic foot ulcers and lower-limb amputation. Procalcitonin, CRP, pentraxin-3, interleukin-6, and calprotectin may help to distinguish uninfected from mildly infected diabetic foot ulcers and diagnose soft tissue infections, bone lesions, and sepsis in diabetic patients. Moreover, these biomarkers may be predictors of lower-limb amputation and postoperative mortality. The current management of infected diabetic foot ulcers is disappointing and unsatisfactory, both in preventing its development and in halting and modifying its progression. The use of new (molecular) techniques for the identification of the IDFU have not yet proven superior to classic cultural techniques for the management of such patients. For clinicians, if the risk stratification of DFU can be obtained earlier in diabetic patients the hospitalization, disability, and mortality rate will be reduced. For practical application of th...
Source: Current Diabetes Reviews - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Source Type: research