TITLE:
Diabetes Mellitus, Leprosy: Intensive Education Protocol in Foot at Risk, Santa Marcelina Hospital, Amazon, Brazil
AUTHORS:
Orlando Leite, Vanderneide Oliveria, Augiceli Rodrigues, Ticiana Albuquerque, Alexandre Carvalho, Larissa Gaspar, Alexandre Falqueti, Larissa Bianca Paiva Cunha de Sá, Alberto Krayyem Arbex
KEYWORDS:
Continuing Education, Foot at Risk, Healing
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
11,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objective: To apply an intensive and multidisciplinary education protocol in order to decrease, improve, delay or cancel the beginning of neuropathy and the manifestation of lesions in diabetic patients. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at the Diabetes Mellitus Outpatient Clinic and Ward of Santa Marcelina Hospital in Porto Velho. This research was based on cases of patients with Diabetes and Diabetics with Leprosy. The criteria used to include the patients were: being treated with insulin therapy, not to be amputated, being on high medication of the leprosy at the moment of the evaluation and to present nutritional risk classification by the screening. The population was divided into two groups of fifteen patients: eight diabetic patients, four male and four female. Seven diabetics associated with leprosy were 4 males and 3 females. The monofilament test (Semmes-Weinstein 10 g) was used as the classification basis. Results and Discussion: Group A, called the intensive care group, began diabetes education work with medical, nutritional and rehabilitation guidelines by a multidisciplinary team for an average period of 15 days in the ward and after discharged with biweekly monitoring. Group B, called conventional care, received the same guidelines in outpatient care and the monitoring followed the quarterly protocol. Both groups were evaluated and reassessed for a period of 180 days in the outpatient clinic. Group A consisted of 8 (100%) patients, 4 (50%) diabetics and 4 (50%) diabetics and leprosy patients. Conclusion: Intensive education in diabetes showed an improvement in the sensitivity, healing and nutritional status of the patients, leading to an improvement in quality of life and disability level, reducing or delaying the beginning of neurological complications. The protocol intensive method demonstrated a 100% improvement in patients in group A.