Foot Check Analysis Paper

This paper will focus on creating a foot check program in the hemodialysis unit at the Providence Veterans Administration Medical Center. The prevalence of foot wounds among the veterans has increased over the last six months due to poor foot care practices. Without a program in place to educate, assess and intervene, foot complications will continue. According to Crozier, (2014) patients on hemodialysis have a high prevalence of foot related issues resulting in an increased number of hospitalizations, often resulting in amputations which can be serious and even life threatening. Amputations can be avoided with adequate education and thorough evaluations which promotes early detection and referrals. Jones, Chess, Cawley, Phillips & Riley (2013) stated that foot ulcerations are an important predictor of mortality within the first ninety days of initiation of …show more content…
non-diabetic population on hemodialysis. Sixty patients were asked to have a comprehensive foot check analysis. This was an observational study done in a satellite facility. A foot screening tool was used to identify risk factors associated with foot ulceration such as peripheral arterial disease, peripheral neuropathy, or foot pathology. Risk factors for ulcerations were recorded at baseline for all patients and mortality data was revisited after three years. Foot pathology was noted in 79% of these patients, 18% of non-diabetics had peripheral neuropathy, 45% of diabetics and 30% of non- diabetics had peripheral artery disease (PAD). Forty nine percent of the total unit had at least two out of three independent risk factors for foot ulcerations. Mortality independent of the patient’s age was predictive in those patients with PAD and peripheral neuropathy (PN). Findings showed a high prevalence of risk factors for foot ulcerations in the hemodialysis population, PVD (Jones, et al.,