1Associate Professor, Department of General Medicine, Rural Medical College
2Periodontologist, Department of Periodontics, Rural Dental College, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences(DU), P.O. Loni (Bk), Dist. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra-413736
3Intern, Department of General Medicine, Rural Medical College
4Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Srinagar, (Uttarakhand)
*Corresponding Author: Email: amolhartalkar@gmail.com
Online published on 28 July, 2016.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a known presenting clinical feature of type 1 Diabetes mellitus (T1DM). It is a common acute medical complication in already known patients of all types DM, especially after altering/stopping the therapy and any infective etiology.
To describe the profile of precipitating factors of DKA.
This retrospective descriptive study was done in Department of Medicine, of a rural teaching hospital. Precipitating factors were identified by clinical examination & laboratory investigation in hospitalized & diagnosed cases of DKA.
Among 50 patients, 22 were males. The mean age was 38.3 ± 15.7 years. 10 patients (20%) were diagnosed as DM for the first time during hospitalization and rest were already known diabetic. Severe DKA was not common. A Major precipitating factor was an infection (40%) and next was noncompliance (28%). Less common factors included acute pancreatitis, myocardial infarction, surgery and stroke. No definite factor could be found in 14% patients.
Commonest precipitants of DKA were infection &non-compliance. Hence, it may be stated that with appropriate patient counselling about compliance to therapy and management of any illness, many cases of DKA may be avoidable.
Diabetic ketoacidosis, Diabetes mellitus, Risk factors, Precipitating factors
