"Foot care Knowledge, Practice and the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy among type II diabetic patients attending three Family Medicine centers in Cairo"

Abstract

Background: Diabetic complications are strongly attributed to poor foot care knowledge and practice. Proper daily foot care is an effective part of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) prevention and enables diabetic patients to detect foot abnormalities and injuries earlier, thus reduce or even prevent the risk of foot ulceration effectively. Diabetic foot complications occur due to two basic etiological factors which are neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects up to 50% of people with diabetes Objectives were to measure foot care knowledge and practice and to determine the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy among type 2 diabetic patients attending three Family Medicine Centers in Cairo. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in three Family Medicine centers on 140 diabetic who met the inclusion criteria. Data on foot care knowledge and practice was collected using a structured interview questionnaire. In addition to Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) that was used to identify peripheral neuropathy Results: More than half (62.1%) of the participants had poor foot care knowledge, 24.3% had satisfactory level and only16.3% have good knowledge. Foot care practice was significantly related to knowledge. In addition, strong and significant relation was found between income and knowledge grade. Also Longer disease duration and history of foot ulcer were associated with good foot care knowledge. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy among the studied population was 55%. It was associated with longer disease duration. Conclusion: Poor foot care knowledge and practice was evident among the study participants in the three Family Medicine Centers and more than half of them had peripheral neuropathy. So, interactive health educational programs targeting type 2 diabetic patients are strongly recommended to reduce the risk of foot ulceration. Key words: Diabetes Type 2- Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) – Health education – Foot care knowledge and practice- Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).