PEDIS Classification and Score (Diabetic Foot)
PEDIS (International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot) grades a diabetic foot ulcer on FIVE categories.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Perfusion GRADE
- 2
- Extent GRADE
- 3
- Depth GRADE
- 3
- Infection GRADE
- 2
- Sensation GRADE
- 2
Result: 7
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Shape
- Five categories reported as a PROFILE such as P2 E3 D3 I2 S2, with a summed score added later by a validation study. Keep the two separate.
- Off by one
- GRADES ARE 1-BASED; THE SCORE CONTRIBUTION IS GRADE MINUS ONE. Grade 1 means the category is wholly intact and scores 0.
- The error
- Adding the grades inflates the total by 5: a minimum ulcer reads 5 instead of 0, a maximum one 17 instead of 12.
- Perfusion
- 3 grades, up to 2 points: no PAD; PAD without critical limb ischemia; critical limb ischemia.
- Extent
- 4 grades, up to 3 points: skin intact; under 1 cm2; 1 to 3 cm2; over 3 cm2. Largest diameter times the perpendicular second largest - an area, not a length.
- Depth
- 4 grades, up to 3 points: skin intact; superficial; fascia, muscle or tendon; bone or joint.
- Infection
- 4 grades, up to 3 points: none; surface; abscess, fasciitis or septic arthritis; systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
- Sensation
- 2 grades, up to 1 point: no loss of protective sensation; loss. THE LEAST WEIGHT OF ANY CATEGORY.
- Weighting
- The categories are NOT equally weighted. The neuropathy that defines the diabetic foot moves the total by one point of twelve.
- Scope
- Built for research comparability. Does not diagnose infection or PAD, does not decide antibiotics, revascularization or amputation, and its prognostic value in ordinary practice is not established.
What you enter
- Perfusion GRADE (1-based, not the score).
- Extent GRADE (1-based, not the score).
- Depth GRADE (1-based, not the score).
- Infection GRADE (1-based, not the score).
- Sensation GRADE (1-based, not the score).
Full field descriptions
- Perfusion GRADE (1-based, not the score) [1 = No signs of peripheral arterial disease, scores 0; 2 = Peripheral arterial disease, but no critical limb ischemia, scores 1; 3 = Critical limb ischemia, scores 2]. Contributes up to 2 points.
- Extent GRADE (1-based, not the score) [1 = Skin intact, scores 0; 2 = Under 1 square centimeter, scores 1; 3 = 1 to 3 square centimeters, scores 2; 4 = Over 3 square centimeters, scores 3]. Contributes up to 3 points.
- Depth GRADE (1-based, not the score) [1 = Skin intact, scores 0; 2 = Superficial, scores 1; 3 = Fascia, muscle or tendon, scores 2; 4 = Bone or joint, scores 3]. Contributes up to 3 points.
- Infection GRADE (1-based, not the score) [1 = None, scores 0; 2 = Surface infection, scores 1; 3 = Abscess, fasciitis or septic arthritis, scores 2; 4 = Systemic inflammatory response syndrome, scores 3]. Contributes up to 3 points.
- Sensation GRADE (1-based, not the score) [1 = No loss of protective sensation, scores 0; 2 = Loss of protective sensation, scores 1]. Contributes up to 1 point.
How this is calculated
Schaper NC. Diabetic foot ulcer classification system for research purposes: a progress report on criteria for including patients in research studies. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2004;20(Suppl 1):S90-S95. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.