To understand the management of diabetic foot complications by the Diabetic Foot Research India (DFRI) members during the lockdown period. An online survey link was created in “Survey Monkey", and the link was sent to all the members of Diabetic Foot Research India (DFRI) who are staying in different parts of India and data were collected from May 2020 to June 2020. The survey included questions on the type of consultation they provided to their patients, management of a patient with an active foot ulcer, and the various difficulties encountered by the doctors during the lockdown. A total of 33 diabetologists from all over the country participated in this survey. Among them, 26 doctors had attended to active diabetic foot infection at the time of the online survey. Almost three fourth of the (n = 24; 72.7%) doctors recorded difficulties during the inpatient consultations. Difficulty in regular follow-ups, the facility's workforce shortage was reported to be a significant concern. In managing active foot ulcer cases, 15 doctors (45.5%) opted for in-person consultation in their hospital as they felt the infection cannot be handled over a tele-consultation. Amputation was not performed by 78.7% of doctors, 15% (n = 5) of the doctors performed less than five amputations, and 6% (n = 2) of the doctors performed more than five amputations during the lockdown period. In the case of SMBG (Self-monitoring blood glucose) values, the regularity of patients reporting the values varied significantly. Only 8 (24.2%) doctors reported that 75% of their patients regularly shared their SMBG values while all the others mentioned that their patients were not performing SMBG regularly. Most of the physicians were able to manage the diabetic foot complications by tele-consultation during the lockdown and only a few asked the patients to get hospitalized for surgical intervention. All doctors should recommend SMBG to continuously monitor patients’ blood glucose levels and prevent complications of hyperglycemia, particularly during pandemic situations.

1. Haifa elhadi, A, Faiza, H. Reasons for admission of individual with diabetes to the Tripoli medical center in 2015. Diabetes Metab Syndr: Clin Res Rev. 2019;13(4):2571‐2578. doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2019.07.017
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline2. Liu, C, Shi, WL, You, JX, et al. An internet-based algorithm for diabetic foot infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Foot Ankle Res. December 2020;13(1):37. doi:10.1186/s13047-020-00405-z
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline3. Shin, L, Bowling, FL, Armstrong, DG, Boulton, AJM. Saving the diabetic foot during the COVID-19 pandemic: a tale of Two cities. Diabetes and COVID-19: tactics for study and management. Diabetes Care. 2020 Aug;43(8):1704‐1709. doi:10.2337/dc20-1176
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline4. IWGDF Guidelines. COVID-19 and diabetic foot disease [cited 2021 September 24]. Available from: https://iwgdfguidelines.org/covid-19/#1586230034438-eafd453e-4cef-IWGDF.
Google Scholar5. Kesavan, R, Murthy, VB, Rastogi, A, Bal, A. Guidance for diabetic foot management during COVID-19 pandemic. Indian J Vasc Endovasc Surg. June 2020;7(2):116‐120. doi:10.4103/ijves.ijves_43_20
Google Scholar | Crossref6. Atri, A, Kocherlakota, CM, Dasgupta, R. Managing diabetic foot in times of COVID-19: time to put the best “foot” forward. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries. 2020 Sep 1:1-8. doi:10.1007/s13410-020-00866-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32904959; PMCID: PMC7461755.
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline7. Lancaster EM, Wu B, Iannuzzi J, Oskowitz A, Gasper W, Vartanian S, et al. Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on an academic vascular practice and a multidisciplinary limb preservation program. J Vasc Surg. 2020 Dec;72(6):1850-1855. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2020.08.132. Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 32931873; PMCID: PMC7486620.
Google Scholar | Crossref8. Nachimuthu, S, Vijayalakshmi, R, Sudha, M, Viswanathan, V. Coping with diabetes during the COVID – 19 lockdown in India: results of an online pilot survey. Diabetes Metab Syndr: Clin Res Rev. 2020;14(4):579‐582. doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2020.04.053
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline9. IWGDF Guidelines. COVID-19 and diabetic foot disease [cited 2021 September 24]. Available from: https://iwgdfguidelines.org/covid-19/#1588066431634-ad229fbd-e40c
Google Scholar10. Jaly, I, Iyengar, K, Bahl, S, Hughes, T, Vaishya, R. Redefining diabetic foot disease management service during COVID-19 pandemic. Diabetes Metab Syndr: Clin Res Rev. 2020;14(5):833‐838. doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2020.06.023
Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline11. Census of India . GOI. 2012. Last accessed September 24, 2021. http://censusindia.gov.in.
Google Scholar12. Mishra SK, Kapoor L, Singh IP. Telemedicine in India: current scenario and the future. Telemed J E Health. 2009 Jul-Aug;15(6):568-75. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2009.0/tmj.2009.0059. PMID: 19659413.
Google Scholar | Crossref13. Sudhamony S, Nandakumar K, Binu PJ, Issac Niwas S. “Telemedicine and telehealth sercices for cancar care delivery in India”, IET Commun. 2008;2:231-236.
Google Scholar14. Telemedicine practice guidelines. Last assessed September 24, 2021. https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Telemedicine.pdf.
Google Scholar