Usage of Therapeutic Offloading In Diabetic Foot- A Clinical Audit

Abstract

Aim- To assess the usage of therapeutic offloading in diabetic foot patients in an expert diabetic foot centre and distribute them according to Amit Jain’s classification for offloading. Methods and materials- A retrospective audit was conducted at Amit Jain’s diabetic foot offloading clinic which is now an eponymous wing under Amit Jain’s Institute of Diabetic Foot and Wound Care, Brindhavvan Areion Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The audit was over one year period from July 2019 to June 2020. Results – There were 34 patients in whom offloading was used during this period. Majority was males (58.82%). 88.24% of patients had diabetic foot ulcer for which offloading was used. Majority of the patients (82.35%) received simple off loadings and Amit Jain’s offloading system was the commonest offloading method used at our centre. Only 5.88% of patients had total contact cast. Conclusion- Offloading is an important strategy in treatment of diabetic foot. Audit from our expert diabetic foot centre, which has dedicated offloading clinic, shows that majority of patients receive simple offloading which is easy to apply and well accepted by the patients and complicated offloading are only occasionally required.