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Published on: June 11, 2012
[Acute diabetic complications attended in a hospital emergency department: a descriptive analysis]
María Sanz-Almazán1, Teresa Montero-Carretero2, Susana Sánchez-Ramón3
1Servicio de Urgencias Hospital Universitario Río Hortega, Valladolid, España. Centro de Salud Arturo Eyries (Valladolid Oeste), Valladolid, España.
Objectives:
To analyze the characteristics of acute diabetic complications attended in a hospital emergency department.
Material And Methods:
Cross-sectional, descriptive, retrospective study of patients with hyper- and hypoglycemic emergencies attended in a tertiary-care university hospital emergency department.
Results:
We included 237 patients with a mean (SD) age of 61 (26) years. Diabetes had been diagnosed previously in 86.5% (type 2 in 74% and type 1 in 26%). Hyperglycemic emergencies were treated in 72%. The most frequent reasons for decompensation were poor control of type 1 diabetes (41.2%) and infections in type 2 diabetes (51.5%). Twenty-eight percent had low blood sugar levels caused by poor control of disease (50%). Patients with hypoglycemia had shorter mean stays. More admissions were made in type 2 diabetes than in type 1.
Conclusion:
Type 2 diabetes leads to more visits to the emergency department, more admissions, and a longer hospital stay than type 1 diabetes.
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