Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) affect 25–33% of individuals with diabetes during their lifetime. It has a severe impact on the physical function, quality of life and life expectancy of individuals with diabetes (one in three individuals with a DFU will die within five years). In 2020, the English National Health Service spent more than 800 million euros on treating DFUs and the resulting complications, such as amputations.

While these figures are significant, studies have shown that up to 75% of DFUs can be prevented through timely and appropriate treatment. Recent studies have suggested that biofilm may play a vital role in preventing DFU healing due to the accompanying low-grade chronic inflammation and infection seen in biofilm-infected tissue. However, diagnosing biofilms in chronic ulcers in clinical practice remains challenging. Despite a recent consensus document on identification and treatment, large gaps remain in our knowledge of the prevalence and clinical presentation of biofilms in chronic DFUs, and of the best practices for identifying and treating biofilms if present. Nanoimaging offers a potential way to identify biofilms in chronic DFUs and further our understanding of their anatomical placement and distribution in relation to the ulcer.

Credit: Biorender/Amanda Esmann Olesen

For further information about this HALRIC pilot project, please contact:

 

Jonas Askø Andersen
North Zealand Hospital
jonas.hedegaard.andersen@regionh.dk