Screening practices and risk factors for diabetic foot complications among patients with diabetes at a tertiary...

Diabetes is a chronic disease leading to multiple complications. Diabetes foot led to significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is recommended to do screening foot exam in patients with diabetes on annual basis.

Investigate diabetic foot screening practice and risk factors associated with foot complications.

This is a cross-sectional study was conducted at the Adult Endocrinology Outpatient Clinics, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods and Material: Demographic data, clinical and laboratory variables, documentation of foot exam, and foot complications were collected from the medical records of a sample of patients with diabetes attending endocrinology/diabetes clinics from January 2020 to December 2024. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics. Associations between variables were assessed using Chi-square or Fisher's Exact test as appropriate.

The study included 202 patients, 56% female. Foot exam was done in 41% of the study sample and 12% had foot complications. Around 33% of those who did not have foot complaints were examined. Males were more likely to have foot complications than females (18% vs. 7%, P = 0.017). Education about foot care provided more frequently in patients, who had foot examination (61% vs. 10%, P < 0.001). Foot complications were present in 18% of patients with other diabetes-related complications, compared with 3% of those without diabetes-related complications (P = 0.001).

Foot examination was performed in less than half of the patients. Foot complications were more in men, and those with other diabetes complications.