Manufactured Shoes in the Prevention of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of manufactured shoes specially designed for diabetic patients (Podiabetes by Buratto Italy) to prevent relapses of foot ulcerations. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective multicenter randomized follow-up study of patients with previous foot ulcerations was conducted. Patients were alternatively assigned to wear either their own shoes (control group, C; n = 36) or therapeutic shoes (Podiabetes group, P; n = 33). The number of ulcer relapses was recorded during 1-year follow-up. RESULTS Both C and P groups had similar risk factors for foot ulceration (i.e., previous foot ulceration, mean vibratory perception threshold > 25 mV). After 1 year, the foot ulcer relapses were significantly lower in P than in C (27.7 vs. 58.3%; P = 0.009; odds ratio 0.26 [0.2–1.54]). In a multiple regression analysis, the use of therapeutic shoes was negatively associated with foot ulcer relapses (coefficient of variation = −0.315; 95% confidence interval = −0.54 to −0.08; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS The use of specially designed shoes is effective in preventing relapses in diabetic patients with previous ulceration.