Patient/caregiver were instructed on the complications that could arise from poorly managed diabetic foot ulcers as follows:
- Development of dead tissue at the ulcer site can lead to necrosis & gangrene, giving the wound site a black discoloration.
- Progressive worsening of the diabetic wound with development of repeated infections and necrotic tissue could result in development of deeper and complicated wound. This can worsen the wound on the staging and grading scale, making it a wound difficult to heal.
- Uncontrolled and poorly treated infection of diabetic foot ulcer can eventually lead to spread of bacteria to deeper tissues, such as, muscle and bone. Involvement of bone along the path of infection can result in inflammation of bone, bone pain, and osteomyelitis. Poorly controlled bone infection in later stages could lead to demineralization & weakening of bones, risk for easy fractures, necrosis & gangrene of the bone tissue. An attempt at saving the uninvolved healthy bone could necessitate an amputation of the limb to the extent involved.
- Further spread of uncontrolled infection status can lead to onset of bacterial septicemia, which is entry of bacteria into the blood stream. Bacteria in the blood stream can spread to distant body sites, making it a complicated case to resolve and be life-threatening.
