Manufactured shoes in the prevention of diabetic foot ulcers

OBJECTIVE - To evaluate the efficacy of manufactured shoes specially designed for diabetic patients (Podiabetes by Buratto Italy) to prevent relapses of foot ulcerations. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - A prospective multicenter randomized follow-up study of patients with previous foot ulcerations was conducted. Patients were alternatively assigned to wear either their own shoes (control group, C; n = 36) or therapeutic shoes (Podiabetes group, P; n = 33). The number of ulcer relapses was recorded during 1-year follow-up. RESULTS - Both C and P groups had similar risk factors for foot ulceration (i.e., previous foot ulceration, mean vibratory perception threshold >25 mV). After 1 year the foot ulcer relapses were significantly lower in P than in C (27.7 vs. 58.3%, P = 0.009; odds ratio 0.26 [0.2-1.54]). In a multiple regression analysis, the use of therapeutic shoes was negatively associated with foot ulcer relapses (coefficient of variation = -0.315; 95% confidence interval = -0.54 to -0.08; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS - The use of specially designed shoes is effective in preventing relapses in diabetic patients with previous ulceration.