Aim
This pilot study, aiming to recruit 110 adult diabetic foot ulcer patients with either no infection or mild ulcer infection, will be based in community podiatry clinics in the South Wales area and has 3 main aims:
- This small pilot study, if the results are promising, will hopefully be rolled out to a large Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). RCTs are the best available way to test whether a treatment / test works. This pilot study will inform the feasibility of a subsequent Randomised Controlled Trial, particularly in terms of trial recruitment and use of the POCTs.
- To determine if a combination of POCTs can be safely used to inform the decision about whether a diabetic foot ulcer is infected and requires antibiotics treatment at initial assessment in community Podiatry Clinics. This will be achieved by determining the cut-off points for optimal negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) of a combination of the POCTs using a robust gold standard for ulcer infection.
- To develop an online educational tool for diabetic foot ulcer infection and obtain feedback regarding its effectiveness from experienced clinicians and patients.
