---
name: diabetes-podiatry-assessment
description: 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).
---

# Diabetes Podiatry Assessment

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](https://github.com/FormExamples/form-examples/tree/main/forms/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.