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PIMS plans modern diabetic foot clinic

* Doctors highlight factors responsible for diabetes

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), in collaboration with Baqai Institute of Diabetes, Karachi, will set up a modern diabetic foot clinic at its outpatient department, said PIMS Executive Director Dr Abdul Majid Rajput on Friday.

Addressing second annual symposium on diabetes at the hospital as chief guest, he said that a trained staff would be deployed at the clinic. He said number of diabetics were increasing gradually and that only prevention could cure the disease.

On the occasion, Prof Dr Jamal Zafar said that insulin therapy was not the last one, but the best therapy for diabetics. “There are about 17 million diabetics in Pakistan. A person is declared diabetic if his or her fasting blood glucose is 126mg/d or more and 200mg/dl or more after the meal,” he said.

He said that obese persons should be screened for diabetes in case of having family history of diabetes in first or second-degree relatives, signs of insulin resistance and maternal history of diabetes during pregnancy.

He said the screening should start at the age of 10 or at the onset of puberty. About a 150-minute walk everyday reduces five to 10 per cent bodyweight sooner or later and development of factors responsible for causing diabetes.

Dr Zafar urged diabetics to quit smoking that increased the risk of vascular damage and complications of diabetes. “All the diabetics must go for routine urine check for the presence of albumin and spot urine is more accurate than 24-hour urine collection,” he said.

He said that blood pressure control was necessary to reduce the risk or slow the progression of nephropathy optimise. The ceremony concluded with holding of a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with the diabetics.

Shifa International Hospital: More and more people are being diagnosed with diabetes, as Pakistan currently has 5.2 million diabetics and this number will rise to 11.3 million by 2030, said Shifa International Hospital (SIH) Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Wajid Yar Khan on Friday.

Addressing a function held to commemorate the day at the SIH, he said that total number of diabetics in the world would increase to 366 million by 2030 from 171 million recorded in 2000.

He said diabetes-related morbidity and mortality had emerged as major healthcare issues. People suffering from diabetes are at the risk for developing cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases and micro-vascular complications.

Dr Khan said there was a need to identify and treat patients with pre-diabetes symptoms to save them from the disease and its related macro and micro-vascular complications. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rezzan Khan, a consultant nutritionist, explained new approaches devised for management of diabetes and challenges in the diabetes management.

She said that goals of a medical nutrition therapy were meant to attain and maintain metabolic outcomes, prevent and treat chronic complication, improve health and address individual nutritional needs.

Physical activity and behaviour modification are important components of weight loss programmes and are the most helpful in maintenance of weight loss mentioned, Dr Rezzan said.

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