Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Sick or tired subject, just like the diabetic patient, is exempted from fasting during Ramadan, when it can jeopardize health or well being. Nonetheless, many people want to keep holding onto this practice. However, diabetes can be revealed in this context. The aim of the study is to evaluate the characteristics of the diabetic ketosis during this month by comparing them to data far from this period.

Patients et methods: Descriptive, retrospective study about patients hospitalized for diabetic ketosis in endocrinology department of University Hospital, during the holy month of Ramadan 1437 (July 2017), the month before and the one after it. The study concerned 64 patients.

Results: 20 diabetic patients hospitalized for ketosis during the month of Ramadan, 21 patients the month before and 23 the one after. The average age of the patients was 43.1 years, with a masculine predominance. The average duration of the diabetes was 5.67 years and 35% of these ketosis were inaugural. Our patients fasted during Ramadan in 76% of the cases. The precipitating factor of the ketosis was infection in 45% of the cases, heart disease in 17%, and an interruption of treatment in 38% of the cases, the insulin deficiency was retained in 12% of the cases. Outside of this holy month, the number of cases of ketosis was not significantly different and the commonest precipitating factor stayed infectious in 40% of the cases.

Discussion: The ketosis during Ramadan is thought to be more frequent. The reasons explaining that are the risk of dehydration, a miss dosing the antidiabetic treatment, and due also to insulin and glucagon alteration. The exempted patients that insist on fasting can put themselves in situations of dangerously severe complications. This severe unbalance concerns, as well, the diabetic patients that are not fasting, because their food habits and lifestyle change during this month.