Diabetic Foot and Covid 19: Recommendations from the IWGDF
The International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) supports practitioners in the care of diabetic foot syndrome in times of the Corona Pandemic. The IWGDF's website provides a forum for questions to experts from the working group.
These are unprecedented times, where a global pandemic disrupts all aspects of local clinical practice. Yet, providing care for people with diabetic foot disease remains crucial, says the the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF). “As clinicians caring for these patients, we can play our role in the Corona-crisis, by doing everything we can to keep our patients with diabetic foot disease free from hospital. Every hospital bed not needed by a person with diabetic foot disease (DFD), gives room for a patient suffering from Covid-19.” However, all over the world diabetic foot care seems to be under pressure. The IWGDF is getting questions from people on the ground: what should we do now?
On its website, the IWGDF is collecting questions from diabetic foot clinicians, and matches them with answers from their global network of content experts. “These answers should not be seen as medical advice, and readers may not rely on the application of any information as being applicable to specific circumstances. We do not assume liability or responsibility for damages or injury to any person or property arising from any use of any information, idea or construction on this website. However, in these extraordinary times, we do whatever is within our abilities to bundle our expertise, to continue to provide the best care possible for people with diabetic foot disease”, the IWGDF says on its website
The questions asked and the answers of the experts from the working group can be found on the IWGDF website. Of course, new questions can also be submitted to the experts.
About the IWGDF
In 1996 the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) was created to develop guidelines on the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease. These are international and multidisciplinary guidelines that are produced through a rigorous, scientific process, undertaken by health professionals and researchers from all over the world. In addition, systematic reviews and a summary for daily practice are produced. All are published in an international scientific journal and on the website of the IWGDF. The guidelines are adapted for many different countries and have been translated into most (currently 26) of the major languages of the world. The IWGDF website provides the guidelines, its translations, information on the many international multidisciplinary experts involved in writing the IWGDF guidelines, some history and information on the next update.
