5th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot 2007 (ISDF 07)

The 5th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot was held in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, May 9-12, 2007. With 1,000 participants from 81 countries, the turn-out was the highest ever, making this meeting without a doubt and by far the biggest and most important diabetic foot meeting in the world. The widespread representation from all IDF regions illustrates the further globalization of the Diabetic Foot world.

The past quadrennial symposium encompassed 32 invited lectures by renowned specialists from all over the world and 22 workshops. Presentations spanned the total spectrum of diabetic foot issues, from pre-clinical science to the realities of day-to-day clinical care. In particular, the impact of new strategies and policies on the management and prevention of the diabetic foot was highlighted. The quality of the presentations was very high as evidenced by delegates’ ratings of various aspects. Their ratings were on average all very close to 4.0 on a scale from 1 to 5.

From the 269 submitted abstracts, a number double that of the previous symposium in 2003, 60 were selected for oral presentation and 191 for poster presentation.  All posters were discussed in 21 poster sessions, chaired by experienced faculty members.

It is estimated that approximately 246 million people, or 5.9% of the world’s population, will have diabetes in 2007. Since eighty percent of these people live in developing countries, special attention was paid to improving foot care in these countries. After an introduction by Nigel Unwin, on behalf of the WHO, several speakers from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America and Europe focused on the present situation in their countries and, in particular, presented their successful education programmes.

In view of the high and rapidly increasing prevalence of diabetes, special attention was paid to improving foot care education in the developing world. A debate on foot care and podiatry focussed on the importance of structured and licensed foot care in every country.

The prestigious quadrennial Diabetic Foot Award, the highest honor bestowed in the multidisciplinary field of prevention and treatment of foot complications caused by diabetes, was presented to Professor Peter Cavanagh. He has played pivotal role in the development of better diabetic foot care throughout the world, in particular by improving insights into biomechanics of the foot, footwear design, and off-loading.

During the 3rd International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot in 1999, the International Consensus on the Diabetic Foot, and the Practical Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of the Diabetic Foot were launched. The International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) consensus project is an ongoing process. In 2007, the consensus document was completely updated and several new chapters were added. Since 1999, also the techniques of producing guidelines have evolved and new 2007 texts on ‘Footwear and Offloading’, ‘Wound Healing’, ‘Osteomyelitis in the Diabetic Foot’ and ‘Footwear and Off-loading’have been produced based upon a systematic review of evidence from the literature. The revised consensus and guidelines documents were launched at the 5th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot in May 2007 and are available on an interactive DVD-ROM ( ordering: www.idf.org/bookshop)

The 6th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot will be held May 11-14, 2011. It will again take place in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands.

For more information: www.diabeticfoot.nl