6 voices in 10 minutes: Microbiology of the diabetic foot. Sample collection and antibiotic therapy

Abstract

6 voices in 10 minutes: Diabetic foot

Microbiology of the diabetic foot. Sample collection and antibiotic therapy

Diabetic foot infection is defined by clinical parameters (edema, erythema, induration, purulent discharge, increased temperature). Once the diagnosis is made, cultures will be taken and empirical antibiotic treatment will be performed. For taking cultures, there are several techniques contemplated, although taking a sample by curettage or bottom biopsy of the ulcer after debridement is the preferred one for soft tissue culture. Other methods are also accepted, such as puncture of healthy skin from collections or cellulite tissue or swab with the Levine technique. In the case of bone samples, it depends on the characteristics of the wound, but surgical biopsy if surgery is required or biopsy guided by fluoroscopy are the types of samples contemplated.

Empirical antibiotic treatment should be guided by the prevalence of germs in diabetic foot infections at a local level, by their sensitivity and the severity of the lesions. It is important to perform microbiology studies on the diabetic foot, since the empirical treatment instituted before the culture results must be as accurate as possible to prevent the progression of the infection during the time that these results take.