Guidelines For Clinical Practice
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Diabetes. Feb 15, 2011; 2(2): 24-32
Published online Feb 15, 2011. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v2.i2.24
Table 1 International consensus on the diabetic foot classification of foot wound infections (adapted from reference [17])
Grade 1No symptoms, no signs of infection
Grade 2Lesion only involving the skin (no subcutaneous tissue lesion or systemic disorders) with at least two of the following signs:
Local warmth
Erythema > 0.5 cm - 2 cm around the ulcer
Local tenderness or pain
Local swelling or induration
Purulent discharge (thick, opaque to white or sanguineous secretion)
Other causes of inflammation of the skin must be eliminated (for example: trauma, gout, acute Charcot foot, fracture, thrombosis, venous stasis)
Grade 3Erythema > 2 cm and one of the findings described above
or
Infection involving structures beneath the skin and subcutaneous tissue, such as deep abscess, lymphangitis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis or fasciitis
There must not be any systemic inflammatory response (see Grade 4)
Grade 4Regardless of the local infection, in the presence of systemic signs corresponding to at least two of the following characteristics:
Temperature > 39°C or < 36°C
Pulse > 90 bpm
Respiratory rate > 20/min
PaCO2 < 32 mmHg
Leukocytes > 12 000 or < 4 000/mm3
10% of immature leukocytes