Foot Watch 1998

In conjunction with the celebration of the Diabetes Awareness, Operation Bantay - Paa was launched last July 1998. This program aims to assess the level of awareness on foot problem among diabetic patients. Diabetic patients were asked to answer questionnaires distributed to the different satellite. Diabetic Clinics of the Diabetes Center of the Philippines. Nurse educators were tasked to screen diabetic patients for foot problems through the examination of the feet for the presence of ulcers, calluses, infections, status on the pedal pulses, and sensation testing with the aid of monofilaments.

Thirty one centers participated in this program with include 15 hospitals in the NCR region, 3 hospitals in Central Luzon, 7 hospitals in Southern Luzon, 5 hospitals in the Visayas, and 1 hospital in Mindanao. A total of 696 patients were screened and examined. The mean age group was 52 years old with a male to female ratio of 1:2. Ninety five percent of patients had Type 2 Diabetes.

The data showed that only 54% of patients screened had attended formal lectures on diabetes mainly on nature and complications of diabetes and diet conducted by diabetes clinics. Seventy percent of patients had foot problems in the duration of their illness, majority of which were infectious particularly open wounds. Only 1.5% of patients had amputations of feet or toes. Numbness of the toes was the most frequents subjective complaint among the patients. Foot assessment revealed that 88% of patients showed clean feet, 34% had calluses, and only 1% had fungal infection. Vascular status was noted to be good in 84% of the patients. Sensation testing with aid of the monofilament showed 90% of patients had good results.

With the initial data that we gathered, foot problems, as a complication among Type 2 Diabetics is indeed very evident. Seventy percent of diabetics in our program had foot problems which calls our attention in this aspect of management. A continuous program on screening will serve as a vital tool in preventing foot problems especially amputations among Filipino diabetic patients.
The Diabetes Center of the Philippines has included the Operation Bantay-Paa in the program for the annual diabetes awareness week.

This study was done in cooperation with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and the different groups supporting the programs of the Diabetes Center of the Philippines. Staff of Novo Nordisk Philippines did the statistical analysis.