Building a scalable diabetic limb preservation program: four steps to success

Figures & data

Table 1. Eight collective clinical skills for members of a limb preservation program.

1. The ability to perform hemodynamic and anatomic vascular assessment with revascularization, as necessary.

2. The ability to perform neurologic workup.

3. The ability to perform site-appropriate culture technique.

4. The ability to perform wound assessment and staging/grading of infection and ischemia.

5. The ability to perform site-specific bedside and intraoperative incision and debridement.

6. The ability to initiate and modify culture-specific and patient-appropriate antibiotic therapy.

7. The ability to perform appropriate postoperative monitoring to reduce risks of re-ulceration and infection [5,9,10].

8. The ability to provide basic foot care education and referral into (and monitoring of) a home education program [3,11,10].

Figure 1. Structure and measurable outcomes for each component of a limb preservation program.

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