Prevalence of diabetic foot In our country, there are differences in the prevalence of diabetic foot between the north and the south, as well as between the east and the west, accounting for about 2% of the total number of people with diabetes, which is lower than the 5-10% in western countries. The incidence of diabetes is increasing nationwide, for example, the prevalence of diabetes in Shanghai surveyed in 2008 was 8.6%, compared to only 1.01% in 1980, an eight-fold increase in 20 years. This has been accompanied by an increase in the total number of people suffering from diabetes complications, among which the diabetic foot, a complication caused by various damaging factors covering diabetes, is a serious hazard, seriously affecting the survival of patients. Formation of diabetic foot Most diabetic foot, whether it is a diabetic foot ulcer or a deep tissue infection, is caused from a small or superficial injury. Due to the different forms of injury, the clinical manifestations of diabetic foot are diverse, mainly the ulcer type, which is manifested by the absence of infection or necrosis in unequal areas of the skin, and the infection injury can be only in the epidermis or subcutaneous, or deep into the muscle, with some patients having mainly infection and others having mainly epidermal necrosis; the deep tissue infection type, which is further divided into different cases such as involving the bones and not involving the bones and involving the joints; the gangrene type, due to infection leads to thrombosis, which interrupts the blood supply to the toes or even the entire foot, resulting in necrosis of the corresponding tissue areas. In a few cases, the diabetic foot is not caused by infection or external injury as the main factor, but by necrosis of the foot tissue due to thromboembolism or local thrombosis, which is then followed by infection. Dangers of diabetic foot The formation of diabetic foot disease is often associated with a long duration of diabetes, poor glycemic control, and already other large and small vascular complications. The formation of diabetic foot is also often a concentrated manifestation of poor general condition, and the more severe the foot disease, the worse the general condition of the patient. Even after amputation of the diabetic foot, the survival rate of patients with conventional treatment for 5 years is only 44%, while that of intensive treatment can reach 82%. The reason why the diabetic foot is so harmful is mainly because when the diabetic foot is formed, the patient has diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease, in addition to more heart, liver, kidney, gastrointestinal tract and even lung function significantly damaged, if the further development of diabetic foot lesions, the consumption of infection, the burden of necrotic tissue absorption, patients mostly due to diabetic consumption combined with poor gastrointestinal intake, and will increase the the burden on the major vital organs and the patient’s condition progresses rapidly (similar to the progression of cancer). Even after amputation of the patient’s limbs, the recovery of function of these damaged organs is less, and if they do not receive appropriate treatment, they eventually die mostly due to cardiovascular or renal failure.