Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Charcot foot
- A condition where the bones of a numb foot weaken and collapse. It usually looks like a hot, swollen, red foot.
- Critical limb ischaemia
- Severely reduced blood supply causing pain at rest, wounds that will not heal, or tissue death.
- Debridement
- Removing dead tissue and hard skin from a wound or lesion.
- Doppler
- A handheld device that listens to blood flow in the arteries.
- Insensate
- Without feeling, so injury is not noticed.
- Monofilament
- A small nylon filament pressed against the foot to test whether the patient can feel it.
- Monophasic
- A Doppler sound with one phase instead of three, suggesting narrowed arteries.
- Multidisciplinary foot service
- A specialist team, usually in hospital, that treats serious diabetic foot problems.
- Neuropathy
- Nerve damage that reduces feeling in the feet.
- Offloading
- Taking pressure off part of the foot so it can heal.
- Residual risk
- The risk that is left once the existing controls are working.
- Risk stratification
- Sorting patients into risk categories so each gets the right review interval.
- Triage
- Sorting patients at the point of booking so each is seen by someone able to treat them safely.
- Ulceration
- A break in the skin that has not healed.