Diabetic foot ulcer teams in Norwegian hospitals.

BACKGROUND

The national clincial guidelines for diabetes recommend that diabetic foot ulcers be treated by interdisciplinary diabetic foot ulcer teams. This study aims to survey the extent of diabetic foot ulcer teams in the specialist health service in Norwegian hospitals and to describe their clinical composition, organisation and working routines.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study is cross-sectional with the use of a questionnaire survey. The criteria for participating were somatic hospitals with 24-hour operations and a specialist function for patients with diabetes mellitus. A total of 41 hospitals participated of the 51 that fulfilled the criteria.

RESULTS

Altogether 17 of 41 hospitals had diabetic foot ulcer teams. The teams had a broad clinical composition and followed national recommendations for surveying risk factors and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Nine foot ulcer teams had written routines for assessment, five used the Noklus diabetes patient records to document ulcer treatment, and ten had planned interdisciplinary meetings. Only one-quarter of the teams included both medical and surgical competence in the planned interdisciplinary collaboration.

INTERPRETATION: The diabetic foot ulcer teams had broad clinical competence and followed national clinical guidelines. The teams had a short waiting time for the initial consultation, half had written guidelines, and 60 % had planned interdisciplinary meetings. Far fewer had included both medical and surgical competence in the planned interdisciplinary collaboration.