Clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients in Dar es salaam and Zanzibar
| dc.contributor.author | Lwabukuna, Warles C. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mgonda, Yassin M. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-06-03T06:22:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-06-03T06:22:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-05 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a lesion that involves breakage in the skin with loss of epithelium that extends to the dermis and deeper layers involving muscle and bone which tend to develop due to factors associated with diabetes; hyperglycemia, presence of calluses, foot deformities, peripheral neuropathy, and vasculopathy. The management of diabetic foot ulcers requires a multidisciplinary approach; and is burdensome on the health care systems due to its chronic nature and potential complications. Diabetic foot ulcer has caused financial distress to the government in treating diabetic foot ulcer and its consequences; such as lower limb amputation which is irreversible, costly, and devastating to the quality of life of the patients, since diabetic foot ulcer patients have a low work productivity which in turn causes them to remain unemployed. DFU leads to increased morbidity and mortality due to complications like sepsis. Identification of the clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients is pivotal for the prevention and prompt identification of diabetic foot ulcer. This study aimed to identify and outline the clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Hence, identifying the clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer such as; peripheral neuropathy for example which usually goes unnoticed because of its oblivious nature will therefore have no room for excuse and further prevent the development of diabetic foot ulcer. Correspondingly it allows health care systems to distribute access to health care rather than focusing on treating DFU significantly. It will also enable the government’s economic burden placed on managing DFU to temper down. The quality of life of patients will improve in terms of physical, mental, and social health hence, reducing morbidity and mortality. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among diabetes mellitus patients attending diabetic clinics in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Questionnaires were used to collect demographic data and clinical characteristics of study participants. Random blood glucose and skin scrape tests were done using standard methods. Results: A total of 202 participants (72 males and 130 females) were studied. The overall mean age of the study participants was 55.3± 16.7 years with a range of (13-83 years). The majority of the participants resided in Dar es Salaam, with 164 (81.2%) individuals, while 38 (18.8%) were from Zanzibar. Out of the 202 study participants, the proportion of diabetic foot ulcer was 40.6%, with the clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer; peripheral neuropathy (47%), calluses (43.1%), hyperglycemia (34.2%) foot deformities (20.8%) and peripheral vasculopathy (10.4%). Conclusion: findings from this study provide evidence for the existence of clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients in which peripheral neuropathy, calluses, hyperglycemia, foot deformities, and peripheral vasculopathy predominate. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Lwabukuna,W.C.,Mgonda,Y.M.,2024.Clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients in Dar es salaam and Zanzibar. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.other | 10.9790/0853-2305114856 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1430 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences | en_US |
| dc.subject | Diabetic foot ulcer | en_US |
| dc.subject | Clinical predictors | en_US |
| dc.subject | Neuropathy | en_US |
| dc.title | Clinical predictors of imminent diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients in Dar es salaam and Zanzibar | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |