Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Apr 15, 2017; 8(4): 135-142
Published online Apr 15, 2017. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v8.i4.135
Osteomyelitis in diabetic foot: A comprehensive overview
Laura Giurato, Marco Meloni, Valentina Izzo, Luigi Uccioli
Laura Giurato, Marco Meloni, Valentina Izzo, Luigi Uccioli, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Giurato L designed and wrote the paper; Meloni M and Izzo V provided scientific contribution in writing the paper; Uccioli L designed and coordinated the writing of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare to have not conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Marco Meloni, MD, Department of Systems Medicne, University of Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy. meloni.marco@libero.it
Telephone: +30-06-20900359 Fax: +30-06-20900359
Received: November 26, 2016
Peer-review started: November 29, 2016
First decision: January 16, 2017
Revised: February 9, 2017
Accepted: February 28, 2017
Article in press: March 2, 2017
Published online: April 15, 2017
Processing time: 137 Days and 21 Hours
Abstract

Foot infection is a well recognized risk factor for major amputation in diabetic patients. The osteomyelitis is one of the most common expression of diabetic foot infection, being present approximately in present in 10%-15% of moderate and in 50% of severe infectious process. An early and accurate diagnosis is required to ensure a targeted treatment and reduce the risk of major amputation. The aim of this review is to report a complete overview about the management of diabetic foot osteomyelitis. Epidemiology, clinical aspects, diagnosis and treatment are widely described according to scientific reccomendations and our experience.

Keywords: Diabetic foot ulcers; Diabetic foot infections; Osteomyelitis; Surgery; Antibiotic therapy

Core tip: Diabetic foot osteomyelitis is a current topic in the field of diabetic foot. Bone infection is a recognized risk factor for minor and major amputation. An accurate description about the diagnosis and treatment is useful to help physicians in the management of osteomyelitis in patients affected by diabetic foot ulcers.