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Special insoles prevent foot ulcers in diabetics
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared with regular shoes, therapeutic
footwear insoles of various types prevent foot ulcers in patients
with diabetes, according to the results of a new study from India.
As a result, the need for amputation could be reduced.
As described in the medical journal Diabetes Care, Dr. Vijay Viswanathan,
of the Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre in Royapuram,
and colleagues compared the effectiveness of different types of
footwear insoles in 241 diabetic patients with previous foot ulcers
and those considered at high risk for foot ulcers.
On average, the patients were 58 years old and had been living
with diabetes for 12 years. One hundred of them were given sandals
with insoles made with microcellular rubber, 59 were given sandals
with polyurethane foam, 32 were provided with molded insoles, while
the remaining 50 used their own footwear containing leather board
insoles.
After 9 months of follow-up, the investigators found that patients
using therapeutic footwear had significantly lower foot pressures
than the regular-footwear group.
The rate of new ulcers in the regular-footwear group was 33 percent,
much higher than the 3 to 4 percent rates seen in the groups wearing
special insoles, the authors report.
They conclude: "Use of this footwear is recommended to reduce
ulceration and, consequently, the amputation rate in the diabetic
population."
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, February 2004.
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