Introduction:

Diabetic neuropathy is the most frequent complication of diabetes mellitus and one of its possible consequences is diabetic foot syndrome. First level of care physicians should know the clinical behavior of diabetic neuropathy and, above all, how it influences the appearance and development of diabetic foot syndrome.

Objective:

To describe the role of diabetic neuropathy in the appearance and development of diabetic foot syndrome.

Methods:

To obtain the information, SciELO, PubMed and Google Scholar were used as search engines for scientific information. The keywords used were: diabetes mellitus; diabetic neuropathy; diabetic foot; diabetic foot syndrome; diabetic foot ulcer; diabetic foot attack. Different review papers, research papers and web pages were evaluated and articles that were more than 10 years old and published in languages other than Spanish, Portuguese and English and that did not refer to the subject of the study through the title were excluded. This allowed the citation of 45 bibliographic references.

Conclusions:

Diabetic neuropathy constitutes the main risk factor in the appearance and development of diabetic foot syndrome, especially when associated with arthropathy (foot defects), peripheral vascular disease and/or sepsis. Glycemic control, early detection of the foot at risk and preventive care of the lower limbs will have a favorable impact on the patient's health and well-being.

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