What are the characteristics of diabetic foot?

  Diabetic foot is a general term for foot pain, deep skin ulcers, gangrene of the extremities and other lesions caused by a combination of diabetic factors. It is one of the common chronic complications of diabetes, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients and even endangers their lives, and its prevention and treatment research is one of the hot spots in the field of diabetes today.  The epidemiological characteristics of diabetic foot are mainly: 1. High prevalence.  It is reported that 3% of diabetic patients in the United States have foot ulcers each year, and 40% of foot and lower limb ulcers in adults are caused by diabetes.  2, the danger is large.  Diabetic patients have a high rate of lower limb amputation, which is 15 to 40 times more dangerous than non-diabetic patients, and causes a heavy economic burden to families and society.  3, the treatment is difficult.  Due to a variety of factors leading to the formation of diabetic foot, such as neuropathy, vascular disease and infection, and its insidious onset, often do not attract the attention of patients, so once it occurs, the treatment is very difficult, of which 3% to 10% of patients need to perform amputation, one side of the amputation, the other side of the limb in 5 years there is a 50% possibility of amputation.  Although the diabetic foot is dangerous, it is preventable and treatable. Studies have shown that 50% of diabetic foot amputations can be prevented. The combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of diabetic foot is a unique advantage in China, and the rate of limb amputation is much lower than abroad. Our study proves that multidisciplinary integrated care and TCM interventions for diabetic patients can reduce the amputation rate by 66% and shorten the hospitalization time of diabetic foot patients by 50%.