What’s new in research in August

It’s been a busy few weeks for DFD research – so grab yourself a cuppa and check out the latest that has been released below!

Management of diabetes-related foot disease in the outpatient setting during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pang B, Shah PM, Manning L, Ritter JC, Hiew J, Hamilton EJ.
The use of telephone and/or video consultation in routine management of acute diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at a tertiary hospital is unprecedented. The present study aimed to describe the adherence to the DFA guideline of managing acute DFD using telephone and/or video consultation at a Western Australian tertiary hospital during this period.

Foot ulcers associated with external trauma among people with diabetes: An integrative review of the origin of trauma and outcomes
Abu-Qamar MZ, Kemp V, Whitehead L.
Foot ulcers are common among people with diabetes. These ulcers are caused by a number of factors including trauma. To date, research findings on the origin of external trauma and the outcome of foot ulcers resulting from an external trauma have not been summarised. The objective is to examine the origin of external trauma that contribute to the development of foot ulcers among people with diabetes and the outcome of such ulcers.

Novel Diabetic Foot Wound Dressing Based on Multifunctional Hydrogels with Extensive Temperature-Tolerant, Durable, Adhesive, and Intrinsic Antibacterial Properties
Liu H, Li Z, Zhao Y, Feng Y, Zvyagin AV, Wang J, Yang X, Yang B, Lin Q.
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are hard-healing chronic wounds and susceptible to bacterial infection. Conventional hydrogel dressings easily lose water at high temperature or freeze at low temperature, making them unsuitable for long-term use or in extreme environments. Herein, a temperature-tolerant (-20 to 60 °C) antibacterial hydrogel dressing is fabricated by the assembly of polyacrylamide, gelatin, and ε-polylysine.

Efficacy of phage cocktail AB-SA01 therapy in diabetic mouse wound infections caused by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Kifelew LG, Warner MS, Morales S, Vaughan L, Woodman R, Fitridge R, Mitchell JG, Speck P.
Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is frequently isolated from DFU infections. Bacteriophages (phages) represent an alternative or adjunct treatment to antibiotic therapy. Here we describe the efficacy of AB-SA01, a cocktail of three S. aureus Myoviridae phages, made to current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) standards, and which has undergone two phase I clinical trials, in treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus infections.

Long-term population-based trends in the incidence of cardiovascular disease in individuals with type 1 diabetes from Finland: a retrospective, nationwide, cohort study
Harjutsalo V, Pongrac Barlovic D, Groop PH.
Cardiovascular disease is the main determinant of premature mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes. However, time trends regarding different types of cardiovascular disease in childhood-onset type 1 diabetes with a long timespan from the diagnosis of diabetes are not well established. This study aimed to investigate the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular disease in individuals with type 1 diabetes in a population-based cohort in Finland, the country with the world’s highest incidence of type 1 diabetes.

The relationship of neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3 with risk factors, and chronic complications in type 2 diabetes: A Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) sub-study
Ong KL, Wu L, Januszewski AS, O’Connell R, Xu A, Scott RS, Sullivan DR, Rye KA, Li H, Ma RC, Li L, Gebski V, Jenkins AJ, Jia W, Keech AC.
Neutrophil elastase (NE) and proteinase 3 (PR3) are novel inflammation biomarkers. We investigated their associations with chronic complications, determinants of biomarker levels and effects of fenofibrate in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes study.

Demographics and outcomes of inpatients with diabetic foot ulcers treated conservatively and surgically in a metropolitan hospital network
Rosi LM, Jones AS, Topliss DJ, Bach LA.
To describe the demographics of patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) and their impact on inpatient management. Secondary outcomes identified relationships of treatment modality with mortality, length of hospital admission, readmissions and post-admission care.

Should weight-bearing activity be reduced during healing of plantar diabetic foot ulcers, even when using appropriate offloading devices?
Jarl G, van Netten JJ, Lazzarini PA, Crews RT, Najafi B, Mueller MJ.
Physical activity is an essential part of general health and diabetes management. However, recommending weight-bearing physical activity for people with plantar diabetic foot ulcers is controversial, even when gold standard offloading devices are used, as it is commonly thought to delay healing. We aimed to narratively review relevant studies investigating the relationship between plantar diabetic foot ulcer healing and weight-bearing activity, plantar pressure and device adherence.