An observational study to evaluate foot and ankle characteristics in people with gout and/or diabetes

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Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and has significant functional, social and financial impacts. The high and increasing hospital admission rates with gout, combined with the burden of co-morbidities such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease are important current and future issues for the New Zealand health care system. We are proposing to identify the nature of foot problems experienced by patients attending community-based rheumatology outpatient clinics within CMDHB and to ascertain the availability of podiatric services for these patients. Patients with a history of gout and/or diabetes will be included into the study. We will measure demographic characteristics, foot and ankle characteristics that includes (i) measures of structure and function; ii) lifestyle and social factors; (iii) footwear suitability; (iv) tissue viability and skin and nail assessments; (v) baseline measures of foot impairment; (vi) the impact of any previous interventions, including surgery, footwear and foot orthoses. We have conducted a similar study in CMDHB in outpatient clinic based in a hospital setting. Our aim is to identify early detection of foot problems in patients to prevent the long term consequences of foot problems such as ulcerations, structural damage and deformity

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