Infrared imaging in the long-term follow-up of osteomyelitis complicating diabetic foot ulceration

Diabetic foot ulcers are susceptible to secondary infection; when this occurs, there is risk of spread of the infection to adjacent bone, resulting in the serious complication of osteomyelitis, which may be clinically silent in this group of patients. Prompt, aggressive treatment with appropriate antibiotics is indicated to prevent even more serious complications ranging from loss of the foot or limb to death. A previous study has shown that infrared imaging is useful in identifying those patients with diabetic foot ulceration at particular risk of developing clinically silent osteomyelitis. This long-term follow-up study has used infrared imaging to trace the progress of these patients