Diabetic Foot Infections: Opportunities And Challenges In Clinical Research

Diabetic foot infections (DFI) are a frequent and complex secondary complication of diabetes that inflict a substantial financial burden on society and are associated with the potential for serious health consequences. The prevalence of DFI is significant, considering that more than 382 million people are living with diabetes worldwide, of which 25% will experience at least one diabetic foot ulcer and approximately 58% of these are likely to become clinically infected. As such, diabetic foot complications continue to be responsible for the majority of diabetes-related hospitalizations and lower extremity amputations as well as pose a serious risk for death related to infection. Unfortunately, guidelines regarding the diagnosis and treatment of DFI are not specific. Additionally, there is a lack of uniformity in clinical trials involving DFI. Differences in design, terminology, and clinical and microbiological outcome measurements pose significant challenges to comparing results among randomized controlled trials (RCT).3 Thus, research in diagnosis, management, and therapy development, as well as development of standardized guidelines for upcoming studies need to be addressed in order to improve the prognosis of DFI patients.