Between visit variability of thermal imaging of feet in people attending podiatric clinics with diabetic neuropathy at high risk of developing foot ulcers.

OBJECTIVE: People with diabetic neuropathy who have previously ulcerated are at high risk of re-ulceration. They should regularly attend podiatry clinics for surveillance and routine protective podiatric treatment. It has been suggested that inflammation prior to skin breakdown shows up as a hotspot on a thermal image even in the absence of clinical signs. The aim of this study is to quantify inter-patient and intra-patient thermal variations presented by diabetic feet at high risk of ulceration. APPROACH: Whole foot and spot temperatures were recorded for 96 patients who attended two successive podiatry appointments without ulceration 28 [28, 31] days apart, median [interquartile range]. This was a part of a longer study into whether thermal imaging in clinic can reduce the rate of re-ulceration. MAIN RESULTS: The variation in spot temperature right/left differences for single patients between visits was comparable to the variation observed between patients (0.8 [0.3, 1.5] °C compared with 0.9 [0.4, 1.7] °C). Similarly, whole foot temperature variation for a single patient between visits was comparable to the variation observed between patients (0.6 [0.2, 1.1] °C compared with 0.8 [0.2, 1.3] °C). SIGNIFICANCE: Thresholds which depend on thermal differences from visit to visit are unlikely to have sufficient specificity to effectively target treatment designed to prevent the development of foot ulcers.

Find your ideal role.

RCN Bulletin Jobs Fairs have been helping nurses to develop their careers since 2009, with more than 28,000 visitors to Jobs Fair events around the country over the past seven years.

Raising the profile of mental health nursing.

Now an associate professor at Swansea University, Julia Terry was a senior lecturer when she applied for a fellowship with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and is convinced this was a key factor in her promotion.

Backing public health will save money in long term.

Cuts to the public health budget have been condemned as illogical and short-sighted by nurses.

Improving the knowledge base in older people's care.

The UK has a rapidly ageing population, and the number of people aged over 75 is projected to double in the next 30 years. In November 2014, King's College London introduced the Older Person's Nurse Fellowship, a pioneering programme designed to give senior nurses the knowledge and skills to optimise quality of life for older people, and lead the way in transforming care and services. This article examines the fellowship programme, its aims and intended effect on practice. It also highlights a series of case study articles by four of the first cohort of fellows beginning in the March issue of Nursing Older People, which will show how the programme is helping senior nurses to improve care in a variety of settings.

The caring touch.

If Catherine Malia had not become a nurse, she would like to have been a florist. As nurse consultant at St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds, her flower arranging skills have come in handy on more than one occasion.

Political influence.

SENIOR NURSES in Northern Ireland are to be trained in political influencing to help them understand better the political landscape of the country, and how they can help to shape policy on behalf of nurses and nursing.

Tackling dementia.

DISCHARGE PLANNING for patients with dementia can be difficult enough when arranging local services, so imagine trying to organise a care package for a patient being discharged to the US. This is exactly what leading dementia nurse Jeni Bell did when the daughter of a patient came to one of the cafés she runs to support the carers of patients with dementia at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.