Clinical Classification of the Diabetic Foot Syndrome Adapted to ICD-10 as a Solution to the Problem of Diagnostics, Statistics and Standardisation

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To propose a new classification of diabetic foot syndrome adapted for inclusion in the ICD-10 (the ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases) and providing more reliable data on the number of clinical cases. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was performed. A total of 180 patients (36.6%) discharged from the hospital after surgical treatment and 312 patients (63.4%) who applied independently were observed and analysed. All patients had type 2 diabetes and were comparable in gender, age, duration of diabetes, area and nature of the wound defect. Results: We proposed to add the following to the existing ICD-10 and the emerging ICD-11 codes: Edf10.0—insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with diabetic foot syndrome and Edf11.0—non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with diabetic foot syndrome, where “df” is an acronym for diabetic foot. The new classification designates the seven most frequent areas of the lesion and five degrees of depth of soft tissue lesions. Conclusions: The proposed classification adapted for ICD-10 will enable the standardisation of diagnosis, providing a complete picture of this complication of diabetes mellitus, determining the number of amputations and their validity. Accurate statistics will allow for objective funding and timely preventive measures.