LAUSR

The prevalence of diabetes in the United States and the world is high. Often the burden of this disease falls on those who are economically disadvantaged, contributing to disparities in access to care. Considering the risk for foot complications related to diabetes, foot temperature monitoring has been shown to be effective in mitigating risk for plantar ulceration. Higher-cost thermometers have been assessed for reliability, while very low-cost thermometers have not. Validation of low-cost thermometers could improve access to this preventive measure. In this study, inexpensive commercially available infrared thermometers were shown to be a reliable and valid means to assess local skin temperature.