2^nd Middle East Obesity, Bariatric Surgery and Endocrinology Congress

Background: Iraq has a large population of Diabetic Foot Infection (DFI) patients with a vast geographical distribution and significant variations in the types of bacterial infections found in DFI wounds from different regions. Foot ulcers are accounting for up to twenty of diabetes-related hospital admission. If left untreated might result in amputation of feet and legs The purpose of the present study is to investigate the microbial distribution among foot ulcers in diabetic patients.

 

Patients and Methods: Forty diagnosed diabetic patients (18 male & 22 female), presented with wound infection attending Azadi Teaching Hospital from 10/9/2018 to 15/4/2019, were selected for the study. Their ages ranged between 44-73 years with a mean age of 56.47±9.77 years. Laboratory tests for evaluation of diabetes; fasting blood glucose (FBG; mmol/l) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c %) levels were collected from patients' laboratory data. A total of forty swab samples were obtained from wounds of both inpatients and outpatients, screened for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms by examination of swabs from wounds of diabetic patients.

 

Results: Polymicrobial infections were observed in 4(10%) of patients, and 12(30 %) isolates were negative. In the present study, the most frequent bacterial isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30%) and Staphylococcus aureus (25%). Regarding the gender of the subjected infected patients, there were two-thirds of the cases were female patients.

 

Conclusion: Age grouping showed that the older age and poor glycemic control are important risk factors related to diabetes foot development in the current T2DM population. Most of these factors can be corrected or at least controlled with a large opportunity for early prevention and treatment, with the subsequent decrease in patients with diabetic foot and its ending sequel of amputation.