[The diabetic hand].

The frequent localization of the infection to the hand to ours diabetic patients oppositely to the classic description of diabetic foot leds us to initiate this work, which had the objectif to determine the prevalency and to describe the "diabetic hand" to our patients. For that we have conducted a descriptive retrospective and prospective study in the internal Medecine Service of the National Hospital of Point G (NHPG) and in Traumato Orthopaepics Service of Gabriel Touré Hospital (G.T.H.) in Bamako. In 341 diabetic examined patients 158 infections of soft areas have been listed (46.33%) with a localization on the foot in 87 among them (25.51%) and the hand in 55 (16.13%). The female sex has been the most affected with an average of 52 years old and recent discovered diabetes. The diabetes was of type I in 54.54% of cases and of type II in 45.46%. The reaching of hand was following upon a traumatism (7.28%), a burn (3.63%), an ingrown mail (3.63%); but in 85.46% of cases any front door hasn't been found. The type of damage observed has been the abscess (49.09%), the whitlow (25.46%), the gangrene (21.82%) and the burn (3.63%). We have noticed an ostect in 41.81% of cases. In bacteriologic field, the staphylocoque was the prevailing germ in relating to the negative gram (25%). The curring has required an amputation in almost a third of patients (30.9%) the healing has been gained in 76.3% of cases with sometimes some fonctional important after effects. On death has been noticed in 9.09% of cases.