Identifying and treating common and uncommon infections in the patient with diabetes.

Patients with diabetes represent a unique group of individuals who appear more prone than others to developing infections. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the association between diabetes and infections. However, few conclusive studies exist and considerable debate continues regarding evidence for this predisposition. Despite this lack of documented proof, many health care practitioners acknowledge that a number of infections are overrepresented in patients with diabetes. Some of these infections appear to occur exclusively in patients with diabetes, especially patients who are poorly controlled. The presenting clinical features, causative organisms, and preferred treatment approaches will be discussed in this article for a variety of common and uncommon infections observed in patients with diabetes. In addition, the proposed predisposing factors will be addressed briefly.