Virtual triage and outcomes of diabetic foot complications during Covid-19 pandemic: A retro-prospective, observational cohort study.

Aims: Limb and patient outcomes in people with diabetic foot complications including diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) provided virtual triage and personalized video consultations during COVID-19 pandemic are not known.

Methods: Patients with foot complications attending the diabetic foot clinic prior to lockdown who sought teleconsultations during COVID-19 lockdown underwent virtual triage to include clinical history, visual inspection of feet, domiciliary wound care (community nurse assisted dressings) and offloading instructions. The subsequent ulcer, limb and mortality outcomes during the following 24 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown (April-September 2020, group 1) were assessed and compared with those who attended foot clinic during the same period in 2019 (April-September, group 2).