Are the left and right limbs unequally affected by diabetic foot complications?

• Aim: There is some debate about laterality for diabetic foot complications, that is, whether the right and left limbs are unequally affected. Coxon and Gallen (1) found that more amputations were performed on the right limb and Evans et al. (2) interpreted this in the context of foot dominance: they found that most foot ulcers occured on the dominant limb (which for most people is the right one) and speculated that the dominant limb may be more exposed to mechanical stresses and injuries. However, Demetriou et al. (3) did not find any laterality in foot ulcer location. The aim was to investigate laterality for foot ulcers and amputations. Methods: A questionnaire was posted to 1245 people who had diabetes, experience of using therapeutic shoes, and who had attended one of two prosthetics and orthotics clinics during a 12 months’ period. The number of ulcers or amputations on the right and left limb were compared with a two-sided chi-square test. Results: 469 (37.7%) questionnaires were returned. 118 (25.2%) participants reported unilateral foot ulcers, 54 (11.5%) reported unilateral minor amputation, and 21 (4.5%) reported unilateral major amputation. There was no statistically significant right-left difference in foot ulcers, minor amputations or major amputations (Table 1, p-values 0.713-1.000). Conclusions: Our results do not support the hypothesis about laterality for foot ulcers and amputations.

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MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Endokrinologi och diabetes (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Endocrinology and Diabetes (hsv//eng)

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