Diabetes Podiatry Assessment
Use when asked to administer, score, or explain a Diabetes Podiatry Assessment — diabetic foot screening for neuropathy, ischaemia, and ulcer risk — related to diabetes-assessment's broader annual review; general clinical knowledge (the FormExamples/form-examples source for this specific form is not yet populated).
A dedicated diabetic foot assessment: screening for peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease, examining the skin and deformity, and stratifying ulceration risk to guide surveillance frequency and referral — the deeper foot-specific counterpart to the general Diabetes Assessment's single foot-assessment step.
> Note on sourcing: the corresponding form in FormExamples/ > form-examples (forms/diabetes-podiatry-assessment/) is currently an > empty stub with no content yet — this skill is written from general, > stable clinical knowledge of diabetic foot risk stratification > (aligned with the widely used NICE NG19 / SIGN foot risk categories) > rather than that specific source. Update this skill once the source > form is populated.
Typical scoring/risk stratification
Diabetic foot risk is commonly stratified as:
- Low risk — no risk factors present (normal sensation, palpable pulses, no deformity or skin changes).
- Moderate risk — one risk factor present (e.g. loss of protective sensation, absent pulses, or deformity, but not combined, and no ulcer/amputation history).
- High risk — previous ulcer or amputation, or a combination of risk factors, or renal replacement therapy.
- Active — an active ulcer, spreading infection, or critical limb ischaemia — requires urgent specialist referral.
What it typically covers
Peripheral sensation testing (10g monofilament, vibration perception); peripheral pulses (dorsalis pedis, posterior tibial) and ankle-brachial pressure index where indicated; skin and nail inspection; foot deformity and pressure-area assessment; footwear review; ulcer/ amputation history; and a surveillance-frequency and referral recommendation based on the risk band.
Common pitfalls
- Screening annually regardless of risk band — surveillance frequency should scale with risk (low risk: annual; moderate/high risk: more frequent, specialist-involved review).
- Testing sensation or pulses inconsistently — monofilament testing needs a consistent, validated technique (specific sites, calibrated pressure) to be reliable; ad hoc testing understates or overstates risk.
- Missing an active ulcer or infection as an urgent case — an active foot problem needs same-day/urgent referral, not routine surveillance-interval scheduling.
Learn more
- FormExamples: diabetes-podiatry-assessment — the source form (not yet populated with content as of this writing).
- Diabetes Assessment for the broader annual diabetes review this specializes.