Twelve Agencies Cooperate to Reduce Amputations in Diabetes
January 14, 1998 "Feet Can Last a Lifetime" Now Available from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
"Feet Can Last A Lifetime" is a new clinical tool to help health care providers prevent some of the 67,000 lower limb amputations occurring in people with diabetes in the United States each year. The program is supported by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and eleven other organizations concerned about diabetes foot disease.
Diabetes causes more than 50 percent of the lower limb amputations in the United States at an annual cost of $268,000 million to the health care system. At least half of these amputations could be prevented with proper foot care, according to National Hospital Discharge Survey and National Health Interview Survey data.
Uncontrolled diabetes causes high blood sugar, which eventually damages the nerves and other organs of the body. As the nerve disease advances, people with diabetes feel no pain when they injure a foot or toe. Even minor problems, such as pressure spots from poor-fitting shoes and improperly cut toenails can result in foot ulcers that fail to heal and lead to amputation.
The "Feet Can Last A Lifetime" kit is also designed to help teach people with diabetes how to care for their feet. The kit includes a sensory testing monofilament, a comprehensive 24-page provider guide, copier-ready foot screening forms, patient counseling sheets, reference materials, and a patient education booklet, "Take Care of Your Feet for a Lifetime." Available for $7 (to cover shipping and handling) from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, the kit is easy to use and all materials may be photocopied and shared.
The "Feet Can Last a Lifetime" kit is supported by: American Association of Diabetes Educators, American Diabetes Association, American Podiatric Medical Association, California College of Podiatric Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Care Financing Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and Pedorthic Footwear Association.
To order a kit, call the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-GET-LEVEL; write Feet Can Last a Lifetime, One Diabetes Way, Bethesda, MD 20892-3600; or visit Foot Care Kit for Diabetes online at the NIDDK website.
# # #
CONTACT: Joanne Gallivan
(301) 496-6110
Page last updated: April 17, 2008
