Diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot infections.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 1. Foot infections in patients with diabetes cause substantial morbidity and frequent visits to health care professionals and may lead to amputation of a lower extremity. 2.

Teicoplanin in the treatment of bone and joint infections: An open study.

Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis caused by Gram-positive pathogens may require prolonged inpatient treatment. The glycopeptide antibiotic, teicoplanin, can be administered once daily to outpatients, and was assessed in a multicenter, open trial in patients with such infections. Patients with proven Gram-positive osteomyelitis or septic arthritis were treated with once-daily teicoplanin, 6-12 mg/kg per day, after three loading doses at intervals of 12 h, for 4-6 weeks.

The use of oral antibiotics in lower-extremity infections.

It is estimated that American podiatrists write 78,000 prescriptions per week for oral antibiotics. This article discusses the currently available oral antibiotics and their appropriate usage in podiatric medicine.

Bone and soft-tissue infections of the lower extremity in diabetics.

The foot is the most common site of infection in the diabetic individual, and one of every four diabetics eventually seeks medical care for a foot problem. This article examines pathologic conditions of the lower extremity from a variety of views, including pathophysiology, classification, microbiology, infections, osteomyelitis, treatment, and prevention strategies.