Balakrishnan KR, Selva Raj DR, Ghosh S, Robertson GA. Diabetic foot attack: Managing severe sepsis in the diabetic patient. World J Crit Care Med 2025; 14(1): 98419 [DOI: 10.5492/wjccm.v14.i1.98419]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kisshan Raj Balakrishnan, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Croesnewydd Road, Wrexham LL13 7TD, United Kingdom. kisshan.raj1108@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Critical Care Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
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/
Kisshan Raj Balakrishnan, Dharshanan Raj Selva Raj, Sabyasachi Ghosh, Gregory AJ Robertson, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wrexham LL13 7TD, United Kingdom
Gregory AJ Robertson, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry SY10 7AG, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Balakrishnan KR conceived the methodology; Balakrishnan KR and Robertson GA performed the literature search and analysis, and wrote the manuscript; Selva Raj DR and Ghosh S advised on the study; and all authors reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kisshan Raj Balakrishnan, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Croesnewydd Road, Wrexham LL13 7TD, United Kingdom. kisshan.raj1108@gmail.com
Received: June 25, 2024 Revised: October 23, 2024 Accepted: November 15, 2024 Published online: March 9, 2025 Processing time: 168 Days and 13.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Diabetic foot attack (DFA) represents the most severe presentation of diabetic foot disease, with typical and atypical forms that require distinct management strategies. A typical DFA results from a severe infection of the foot, propagated by the associated diabetic pathophysiology, leading to rapid spread of infection, tissue necrosis and potential systemic sepsis. An atypical DFA arises from either ischemia or Charcot arthropathy. Effective management of DFA necessitates early diagnosis, aggressive treatment of infections, and a multidisciplinary approach involving critical care, surgical intervention, and diabetes management teams. Current treatment practices are informed by guidelines for diabetic foot infections, but there is a critical need for dedicated research to develop standardized protocols for DFA management. This review highlights the urgent need for comprehensive care and research to optimize outcomes for patients experiencing DFA.
