RESUMO
Diabetic foot adds significant morbidity and mortality to patients. Diabetic patients with foot complication require significant foot care and have a risk of limb amputation. The risk factors are controllable and can be prevented with careful blood glycemic control. To determine the risk factors and personal characteristics of diabetic foot patients and their impact on the socioeconomic status in Bahrain. A Prospective descriptive study. Vascular and Thoracic unit, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain. Eighty-seven patients with diabetic foot were admitted in the Vascular and Thoracic surgery service from March to June 2010. Seventeen [20%] were non-Bahraini. The majority of diabetic foot patients were male, 60 [69%]. Sixty-eight [78%] were diagnosed as first presentation of diabetic foot. Fifty-eight [66.5%] were 40-60 years old. Sixty [69%] were diagnosed with neuropathic foot. Thirty-five [40%] patients were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus for 10 years or less. Sixty-one [70%] patients had HbA1c more than 7. Twenty-two [25%] patients had amputation as a primary treatment. Seventeen [19.5%] patients required minor amputation and 5 [5.5%] patients had major amputation. The majority of patients with diabetic foot in Bahrain are males in the productive age group. A significant number of these patients undergo amputation as a primary treatment; these patients are increasing the socioeconomic burden to the health services in Bahrain as well as to the community