1.Knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot care in a secondary health care centre in Malaysia
Ng Bing Wu ; Muhammad Hanif bin Azman ; Muhammad Shazreen bin Sukr ; Arvinder Singh A/L Harbaksh Singh ; Abdul Muttalib bin Abdul Wahid
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(4):391-395
Introduction: Nurses play a vital role in the care and
prevention of ulcers in patients with diabetic foot. Patient
education, prevention of ulcers and rehabilitation are some of
the vital aspects that nurses provide on a daily basis. Thus,
good knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot
ulcers and its care will ensure better patient care.
Objectives: The aim is to study the level of knowledge and
attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care in
Hospital Segamat, Malaysia.
Methods: A validated questionnaire was used between
February 2019 to May 2019 covering area such as demography,
predisposing factors of ulcer formation, characteristics of
ulcers, complications of ulcers, and attitude towards diabetic
foot care.
Results: A total of 101 nurses took part and 57% of the
participants scored poorly in the knowledge section of the
questionnaire. In all 72% had scored poorly when asked
regarding complications of diabetic foot ulcers; 49.5% of the
nurses had positive attitude towards diabetic foot care; and
79.3% thought that care for diabetic foot ulcer is timeconsuming. Majority of them think that their colleagues are the
main source of information. All demographic variables were
deemed to be confounders with the knowledge and attitude of
nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care. Conclusions:
Nurses in this centre had poor knowledge towards diabetic foot
ulcers and its care. None of the variable studied were
correlated with the level know knowledge. Good or poor
knowledge of nurses does not correspond equally to good or
poor attitude towards diabetic foot ulcers care. More frequent
formal training of diabetic foot care would be needed to ensure
better knowledge.
2.Diabetic foot infection and surgical treatment in a secondary health care centre in Malaysia
Ng Bing Wu ; Muhammad Firdaus bin Ahmad ; Mohd Syafiqq Al Hakim Haniff Ravintharan ; Nur Sa&rsquo ; idah binti Mohd Saidfudin ; Loi Kai Weng ; Ong Kean Chao ; Abdul Muttalib bin Abdul Wahid
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(1):29-32
Introduction: Diabetic foot infection is often associated with
high morbidity, disability and poor quality of life. This study
focuses on the demography, the number of repetitive
surgery and length of stay in hospital of patients with
diabetic foot infection.
Method: This is a retrospective observational study. Patients
who were admitted to the Orthopaedic ward of Hospital
Segamat (HS), Johor, Malaysia from January 2016 to
December 2018 and required surgical intervention were
included in the study. Data was collected from the computer
system of HS and medical notes of patients.
Results: 35.6% of the total orthopaedic emergency surgeries
performed were for patients with diabetic foot infection, 25%
of the surgical procedures performed were major
amputations of lower limb and 40% of the patients with
diabetic foot infection required more than one surgical
operation.
Discussion: The demographics of the patients is consistent
with the demographics of Malaysia where majority of them
are Malays followed by Chinese, Indians and others. Despite
being only 10% of total admission to the department, this
group of patients contributed to 35.6% of the total
emergency surgeries performed. The amputation rate in the
centre is comparable to the other local studies. The average
length of stay in hospital was found to be shorter compared
to overseas due to different rehabilitation protocols.