Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The incidence of end stage renal failure (ESRF) secondary to diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing worldwide. Renal replacement therapy, which if started early improves prognosis, is a common treatment for ESRF.

Objective: To determine the waiting time and factors that influence the provision of emergency renal replacement therapy in patients with ESRF secondary to DM admitted to the emergency room of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: We carried out a chart review of patients with ESRF secondary to diabetes that were admitted to the emergency room between March and December 2009. Patients with an indication for dialysis and ESRF secondary to DM were included in the study. The admission time, initial diagnosis, time from admission to dialysis, and the reasons for waiting were registered.

Results: We reviewed 156 medical charts. Of these, 44 (28.20%) were patients with ESRF secondary to DM with an average age of 50.7 years. Sixty per cent were men. The average waiting time for dialysis was 34.96 h. Among the factors that caused a delay in replacement therapy were the patient’s difficulty to cover expenses for the procedure, and economic administrative problems of the institution.

Conclusions: Although this study has a small number of patients, it shows that the waiting time for renal replacement therapy, in our community, is long and can influence morbidity and mortality. Institutional norms and procedures must be created to provide timely renal replacement therapy for patients with ESRF secondary to DM.