The Indications and Outcomes of Admission of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus to the Diabetic and Endocrine Center in Tripoli, Libya, 2015

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the pandemic of our time, patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus are frequently hospitalized, usually to treat conditions other than diabetes. However, there is still deficit data in our region about the indications of hospitalization of patients with diabetes. Aims: To determine the indications and outcomes of admission of patients with diabetes to the Diabetic and Endocrine Center in Tripoli, Libya. Methods: This is a retrospective case-series study conducted in The Diabetic and Endocrine Center in Tripoli. It covers 1023 patients with diabetes admitted between 1st January and 31st December 2015. All the data was collected from the patient files, including Demographic data and clinical characteristics, laboratory investigations, and outcomes. Results: The mean age of the patients was 49.52 ±20.44 years. The female-to-male ratio was 1.3:1. Type 2 diabetes composed 51.3% of admission, 47.6% of the patients had diabetes for >10 years, 58.6% had no prior chronic illness, 24.1% had cardiovascular diseases, and 5.5% had autoimmune diseases. The mean hospital stay was 4.15±3.6 days, 64.1% were admitted to the ICU, and 75.9% on insulin therapy. 54.2% had recurrent history of admission. The mean HbA1C was 11.22±2.71%. The main causes of admission were DKA (41.7%), followed by hyperglycemia (40.2%). 10.9% of patients had emergency hypertension, and 0.7% cardiovascular complications, 3.9% had neurological diseases on admission combined with hyperglycemia or DKA. Infection reported 5.8% of admitted cases, mainly in the urinary tract, and lower extremity (3.7 and 2.6% respectively), followed by chest infection (2.5%). 31% had macro-vascular, and 17.5% had micro vascular complications. 92% were discharged with good general conditions and 0.9% died from diabetic complication.