Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide and people with diabetes have a 12–25% lifetime risk of developing a foot ulcer. This develops as a result of neuropathy, ischemia or both and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This study set out to determine the proportion and causes of diabetes related admissions and characterize the diabetic cases who presented with foot ulcer.

Methodology: This was a retrospective study involving 566 subjects. The case notes of patients admitted for medical conditions in 2015 were retrieved. The demographic and clinical data were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.

Results: The mean age of subjects was 54.9+18.7 years, male to female ratio was approximately 1:1. Ninety-eight (98) of the subjects which constitutes 17.3% of the study population were admitted for diabetes related cases. Of this, 46 (46.94%) were admitted for poor glycemic control, 4 (4.08%) for hypoglycemia, 18 (18.37%) for hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state, 7 (7.14%) for Diabetes nephropathy and 20 (20.41%) for Diabetic foot and 2 (2.04%) for diabetic hand. Only 1 (1.02%) subject was admitted for Diabetic ketoacidosis. The mean age of subjects with DM foot was 57.4+16.9 years. There were more males than females, male to female ratio being 3:2. Their mean presenting RBS was 25.96+9.62 mmol/l. Out of the twelve cases of DM foot that were retrieved, 9 (75%) presented with gangrenous foot. Five (55.66%) subjects refused surgical intervention, 2 (22.2%) had below knee amputation, 1 (11.1%) had above knee amputation while 1 (11.1%) had Ray amputation.

Conclusions: The prevalence of diabetes foot ulcer is high mostly presenting with gangrenous foot leading to amputation. Diabetes foot education should be intensified at the community level and in the clinics.