The features of patients hospitalized due to diabetic emergency

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the demographic data, clinical features, laboratory data, frequency of referral, precipitating causes of diabetic emergencies, complications in follow-up and resolution times of adult patients who applied to our hospital due to diabetic emergencies. Materials and Methods: The study included patients aged 18 years who were referred to Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital emergency department or endocrinology policlinic between January 2010 and May 2018 with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) or hypoglycemia. Results: The study was carried out with 165 patients, 69 (41.8%) male and 96 (58.2%) female. The mean age of the patients was 43.8 ± 20.4 (18-88). Of these patients, 77% (n = 127) had DKA, 17% (n = 28) had HHS and 6% (n = 10) had hypoglycemia. Of the patients 55.2% (n = 91) were type 1 DM, 44.8% (n = 74) were type 2 DM. When the precipitating causes of diabetic emergencies were examined, 32.7% (n = 54) poor adherence to treatment and 32.1% (n = 53) infection of the patients were involved. The new diagnosis was DM in 10.9% of the patients (n = 18). Resolution time in diabetic ketoacidosis was found to be 12.9 ± 9.2 hours. The most common complication after treatment was hypokalemia with 38.7% (n = 60), but no complication was observed in the majority of patients (54.8%). In our study, total mortality was 1.8% and 11.1% in HHS patients. No mortality was found in DKA and hypoglycemia patients. Conclusion: Diabetic ketoacidosis is more common in DM patients than in other diabetic emergencies. Approximately 11% of patients do not have a known diagnosis of diabetes. Poor adherence to treatment and infection are the most important precipitating causes to diabetic emergency. The mortality rate is very low with early diagnosis and correct treatment. Keywords: Diabetic emergencies, diabetic ketoacidosis, non-ketotic hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, hypoglycemia