Over 246 million people live with diabetes across the world and 4.4 million of those people live in Egypt. Poor diabetes control can lead to devastating complications, like blood vessel problems and an increased risk for foot ulcers, which cause 85% of all amputations.
The Faculty of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt and the Alexandria Western Club of Rotary International has just received a grant for a two year study from the International Diabetes Federation’s BRIDGES grant programme to create a diabetes foot care centre to provide care and education to people living with diabetes in Alexandria and surrounding areas. BRIDGES financially supports translational research projects and chose the foot care project as one of 11 recipients to receive translation research grants this spring from over 108 global applications.
“Every 30 seconds a lower limb is lost to diabetes,” said Linda Siminerio, PhD, chair of the IDF BRIDGES Review Committee. “The Diabetes Foot Care Project in Alexandria will provide people with diabetes with the care they need in order to prevent amputations caused by diabetes.”
Egypt is currently in the Top 10 countries with the highest number of people with diabetes and will remain so as 7.6 million Egyptians will have the disease by 2025. Throughout the world, up to 70% of all leg amputations happen to people with diabetes.
“Mild foot ulcers precede most of the non-traumatic amputations in people with diabetes. Thus, it is essential that foot care services, which are very scarce in Egypt, should be urgently initiated to cope with the rapidly increasing prevalence of diabetes and its complications among Egyptians,” said Prof. Samir Assaad- Khalil, one of the study investigators.
“Besides this project will help the Faculty of Medicine to spread awareness and experience to tackle this problem,” Assaad-Khalil added.
According to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes and Foot Care: Time to Act, it is possible to reduce amputation rates by between 49% and 85% through a care strategy that combines: prevention; the multi-disciplinary treatment of foot ulcers; appropriate organization; close monitoring, and the education of people with diabetes and healthcare professionals.
The Diabetes Foot Care Centre has been placed in the Unit of Diabetes & Metabolism, Internal Medicine Department, Alexandria Faculty of Medicine. The project will serve healthcare providers working in diabetes and people living with diabetes in Alexandria.
People with diabetes will be properly screened for foot complications that make them “at-risk” patients and will be registered for regular follow up visits. Assessments of nerves and blood vessels will be conducted and if problems are detected proper care and referrals will be made..
The Diabetes Foot Centre will conduct routine care of the neuropathic foot by cutting nails, debridement of callus, foot care education and counselling for footwear. Workshops will be held to train healthcare providers working in diabetes in the education and care of feet of people with diabetes.
The project outcome will be measured by observing reduction of the rate of amputations. The objective is to decrease amputations by at least 25% by the end of 2 years. Another alternative would be to assess the state of the feet using the diabetic foot risk classification system developed by the IDF Consultative Section and International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot.
The International Diabetes Federation, which independently manages the BRIDGES program with an educational grant from Eli Lilly and Company, is committed to promoting diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. This Diabetes Foot Care Project builds on the Federation’s long history of promoting foot care through its consultative section.
The Federation is committed to converting research findings into useful practices for the provision of quality care and services delivered by healthcare providers. The BRIDGES translational research projects are selected because of their innovative ideas, demonstration of the potential for health care cost savings, sustainability plans and the opportunity for their results to be widely replicated in other settings. The projects supported by BRIDGES are available at http://www.idfbridges.org.
For interviews with the International Diabetes Federation, please contact Kerrita McClaughlyn, Media Relations, Email: media@idf.org Tel: +32-2-543-1639 or Mobile: +32-487-530625. Prof. Samir Assaad-Khalil in Alexandria, Egypt. Email: assaadkhalils@gmail.com, Mobile 002012 2197789
Note to editors:
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is the global advocate for over 246 million people with diabetes worldwide. It represents over 200 diabetes associations in more than 160 countries. Its mission is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. The International Diabetes Federation is an NGO in official relations with the World Health Organization and an associated NGO with the United Nations Department of Public Information. The International Diabetes Federation leads the World Diabetes Day campaign. Additional information is available at www.idf.org.
BRIDGES is the global translational grant programme of the International Diabetes Federation. It solicits proposals that support cost effective and sustainable interventions that can be adopted in real world settings, for the prevention and control of diabetes. Projects should be based on interventions already proven to be effective in trials to prevent and treat diabetes, to improve care of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and delay its complications. The interventions proposed should have the potential to be widely disseminated to clinical practice, individuals and communities. For more information, visit http://www.idfbridges.org.
The Faculty of Medicine of Alexandria was established in 1942. It serves 7038 undergraduate students & 2148 post-graduate students. The University Hospitals affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine are the main providers of health care for the poor and middle-class population of Alexandria Governorate and nearby Governorates with a population of approximately 8 million.