Amidst the din surrounding the existing complications of diabetes and the diabetic foot leading to limb amputations, many major hospitals should include a 'comprehensive diabetes clinic, according to Dr Tushar. D. Rege, fellowship in diabetic foot surgery (MUHS), and a practicing surgeon at Diabetic Foot Care Team India, (DFC), Mumbai.

Dr Rege in a candid conversation to Pharmabiz confirmed that there has been an increasing high-levels of limb amputations done every year in the country due to the lack of awareness of a diabetic foot at an early stage.

Highlighting the importance of a comprehensive diabetes clinic, he stressed that it was significant to provide ample opportunity for a diabetes patient to guide through the screening process, such as diagnostics and counselling and then the treatment under one roof. He then suggested that the major hospitals or the clinics should also include a 'foot evaluation kit' that costs around Rs.2 lakh.

“It is estimated that at least 15 per cent of India’s total diabetic population develops foot ulcers resulting in approximately 40-45,000 lower limb amputations annually. A diabetes clinic is a ray of hope for patients suffering from foot and limb associated diseases. Amputations and complications are preventable, provided appropriate diagnosis and management is done at the right stage,” says Dr Rege.

Elaborating on the diabetic foot care, he then noted that the diabetic foot was ignorant, long-term and has tremendous complications. The problem has to be dealt when a patient develops Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), a state of numbness in the foot leading to various symptoms such as tingling sensations etc, preventing them to gangrene causing amputation. It is also observed that if there were 100 people whose one lower limb was amputated at a time in five years, the other 50 would have other lower limb amputated.

Rege who has been instrumental in organising free diagnostic camps and awareness programmes on Diabetic Foot through various organisations in Mumbai opined that with the quantum of growing diabetes patients in the country, it was imperative to spread the awareness about diabetic foot care through many ways, such as awareness amongst the doctors for which it could be added in the curriculum of medical colleges.

“A proposal about the curriculum has already been made by the Diabetic Foot Society of India (DFSI) recently to the government of Maharastra,'' adds Dr. Rege.

In addition to the lack of awareness, infrastructure, logistics and data collection and management were also viewed as a related area of concern.