Microbiological examination may be as useful as and less costly than other diagnostic procedures and is the only method which can guide the choice of antibiotic therapy.

Since patients affected by Buerger's disease consist a group of young population who are still in their productive stages, every effort should be taken to obtain a limb salvage in the ischemic period. Although the patency rates do not seem promising, the limb salvation rate was quite satisfactory.

Culture specimens should be obtained from both the bone and the overlying deep soft tissue in patients with suspected osteomyelitis whose clinical conditions are suitable. The decision to administer antibiotic therapy should depend on these results.

Study Group for Diabetic Foot Infections of the Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases has called for collaboration of the relevant specialist societies and the Ministry of Health to issue a national consensus report on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diabetic foot (DF) wounds and diabetic foot infections (DFIs) in Turkey. In the periodical meetings of the assigned representatives from all the parties, various questions as to pathogenesis, microbiology, assessment and grading, treatment, prevention and control of diabetic foot were identified. Upon reviewing related literature and international guidelines, these questions were provided

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These results show that four-phase bone scintigraphy with early Tc-99m WBC scanning is preferred for detecting osteomyelitis of the diabetic foot. To evaluate the response to therapy, Tc-99m WBC scans are the preferred method, but if this is not available, Tc-99m HIG scanning can be used.

Although some authors report inferior outcomes of vascular access procedures in diabetic patients, there is evidence that most of the problems encountered can be dealt with by careful patient selection, surgical skill, and experience.

When forearm fistulas have failed, brachiocephalic AVF is usually preferred first, because of cephalic vein's appropriate anatomy for easy cannulation and ease of the operation. Operative procedure is less invasive compared to brachiobasilic AVF, therefore BC should be the procedure of choice when both veins are available.