How Common Is the Rare Charcot Foot in Patients With Diabetes

The Charcot foot is a devastating complication to diabetes (1). It manifests as an acute aseptic inflammation of bones and joints in the feet. If not diagnosed and treated in time, it may lead to collapse of bones in the foot, which causes deformity, foot ulcers, amputation, and death (1). The diagnosis of acute Charcot foot is often delayed due to little knowledge of the disease among patients and clinicians, probably because of its rarity. But how rare is it? To answer this, we have assessed the incidence and prevalence of the Charcot foot among all patients with diabetes in Denmark. The Danish National Patient Register contains information on all hospitalizations and information on outpatient visits and emergency room contacts from 1995 to present (2). Data about age, sex, and emigrations (temporary or permanent) were retrieved from The Danish Civil Registration System, and dates of death were found in the Death Register, Statistics Denmark (2). All individuals in the Danish National Patient …