Bacterial Infection in Soft Tissue and Diabetic Foot
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 614
Editor
Interests: microbiota and probiotics; prosthetic and joint infections; biofilm implant related infections; osteomyelitis; diagnosis for bone-joint infections; antimicrobials and antimicrobial devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bacterial infections of soft and bone tissues and the diabetic foot remain a major cause of morbidity, hospitalization, and lower-limb amputation worldwide. Their pathogenesis reflects a complex interplay of peripheral neuropathy, impaired perfusion, immune dysfunction, and breaches in skin integrity that facilitate microbial invasion. Diabetic foot infections are frequently polymicrobial, involving aerobic Gram-positive cocci (notably Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative bacilli, and anaerobes, with an increasing burden of multidrug-resistant organisms that complicates empiric therapy. A pivotal, often underappreciated contributor—especially in chronic ulcers—is biofilm formation: structured microbial communities embedded in an extracellular matrix that adhere to wound surfaces, limit antibiotic penetration, blunt host immune clearance, and promote persistence, delayed healing, and recurrence. Clinical presentations range from superficial cellulitis to deep abscesses, necrotizing soft tissue infection, and osteomyelitis, making rapid risk stratification and careful assessment of infection depth, vascular status, and systemic toxicity essential. Optimal management relies on timely source control (debridement and drainage), pressure off-loading, culture-directed antimicrobial therapy supported by stewardship principles, and revascularization when ischemia is present. Advances in imaging, diagnostics, and anti-biofilm strategies may further improve outcomes, but durable success still depends on coordinated multidisciplinary care and prevention to reduce ulcer formation and reinfection.
Dr. Lorenzo Drago
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- bacterial infections
- soft and bone tissues
- diabetic foot
- anti-biofilm
- antibiotic
- antimicrobial therapy
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