[Burns and Diabetes Mellitus: Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation and Prognosis]

Burns in diabetics are quite frequent and serious in relation to diabetic neuropathy, which is common in this population, delaying healing and predisposing to the risk of infection. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of burns in diabetics hospitalized at the CTB of Tunis over 18 months. During the study period, 891 patients were hospitalized, including 43 diabetics (5%). The average age of our patients was 57 years old with a male predominance (65%). Type 2 diabetes was present in 86% of cases and type 1 diabetes in 14% of cases. Degenerative complications were reported in 10 cases (23%), such as diabetic retinopathy (n=6), diabetic nephropathy (n=4) and diabetic neuropathy (n=6). The circumstances of burns were related to a domestic accident in 2/3 of the cases (76.7%). Thermal burns were involved in 83.7% of cases. 86% of the patients had decompensated their diabetes during their hospitalization. Sepsis marked the evolution of the patients in 55.8% of cases. In our study, poor prognostic factors were: a glycosylated haemoglobin > 13%, an extent of burns greater than 20%, and a delay in consultation greater than 6 hours. The mortality rate was 18.6%.