Endocrine Abstracts

Despite advances in the management of last years, diabetes and its complications are still the most frequent cause of admission in Endocrine Departments. Nowadays, in our Hospital, 60% of admissions are due to Diabetes, and more than a half of these are diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) (35.4%).

Objective: Analize DKA episodes in our medical area in the last 12 years and compare them divided in two periods.

Methods: Divide DKA episodes in two periods of 6 years: A: XX century (January 95–December 00) and B: XXI century (January 01–December 06) according to ADA diagnostic criteria. We retrospectively analyzed medical charts.

Results: A (XXc): 117 episodes (56 patients); Type 1 diabetes 95.7%; Mean age: 26.48±15.26 years; Gender: 59% men; Precipitating factors: infections 32.2%, inadequate insulin or diet 28%, drugs 5.1% corticoids 0.8%, unknown cause 33.1%, other 0.8%; DKA- new onset diabetes 12%; evolution of disease (months) : 102.03±81.08; pH: 7.11±0.11; HCO3: 9.79±4.4; Glycemia: 522.62±204.71; Intensive care unit assistance: 6.8%; Admission days: 9.88±6.9.

B (XXIc): 108 episodes (60 patients); Type 1 diabetes 92.6%; Mean age: 31.8±16.25 years; Gender: 61.1% men; precipitating factors: infections 27.1%, inadequate insulin or diet 30.8%, drugs 14%(P=0.02), corticoids 0.9%, unknown cause 22.4%, other 4.7%; DKA- new onset diabetes 6.5%; evolution of disease (months): 134.68±107.7; pH: 7.10±0.12; HCO3: 9.04±3.94; Glycemia: 569.51±225.54. Intensive care unit assistance: 12%; Admission days: 9.01±8.3.

Conclusions: We observe an increase in drug abuse as a precipitating factor for DKA in the last years, however we haven’t demonstrated other differences in clinic and biochemical DKA episodes profile.