Abstract
BACKGROUND - Diabetes mellitus is a disorder that affects how the body metabolises glucose and is responsible for a host of long-term complications, including minor and major lower limb amputations. Diabetes mellitus affects millions of people worldwide, and this number is rising every year. It can be due to poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Diabetes mellitus is costly to treat, affecting multiple human body systems, leading to untimely complications and death. Diabetes mellitus complications may render patients unemployed and dependent on social grants, which places a burden on the economy, which is well documented in developed-world countries. METHOD - This retrospective quantitative survey design study investigated the prevalence and cause of diabetic foot and lower limb amputations at central and provincial tertiary hospitals in Gauteng. The setting for the study was hospitals in the Gauteng Province, namely Ekurhuleni, Pretoria and Johannesburg. The researcher used a self-constructed data collection tool to collect data from the files of the patients who had a diabetic-related lower limb amputation. RESULTS - A total of 1565 patients’ record files were obtained of diabetic-related foot and lower limb amputations. There were 52 amputations a month, over 30 months, from the seven hospitals participating in the study. Diabetic foot infection is the leading cause of foot and lower limb amputation seen in this study. Diabetic lower-limb amputations were seen more in males than females, with many patients undergoing major amputation. CONCLUSION - This study highlights the sheer number of the diabetic foot and lower limb amputations across Gauteng. The study will help raise awareness for the need for access to podiatric services focused on diabetic lower limb related foot health. It has been shown by first world countries that dedicated foot health programmes reduce the number of foot and lower limb amputation. These programmes should be multidisciplinary and podiatry driven to change the fate of many diabetic patients. Podiatrists help prevent lower limb amputation through risk assessment and proper foot health education. Evidence suggests that this is rarely done at primary health care centres and other care levels. The study's finding may also aid in the inclusion of foot health services in the national policy on diabetes management.
M.Tech. (Podiatry)