Prevalence and Clinical Pattern of Acute and Chronic Complications in African Diabetic Patients

Aims: The aim of this study was to describe the proportion, pro¬file and clinical pattern of acute and chronic complications associated with diabetes and its potential risk factors.
Study Design: This was a retrospective study.
Place and Duration of Study: We conducted this study at an Accident and Emergency unit of a tertiary hospital between February 2012 and January 2013.
Methodology: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients (18 years and older) that presented with diabetes-related complications within the study duration were studied. The emergency case record of patients who were brought in on account of diabetes complications was identified and information relevant to this research was extracted. De¬scriptive statistics was used to summarize data, while Chi-Square test was used for the categorical variables. Regression analysis was done to ascertain the risk factors associated with various complications.
Results: Two hundred and sixty-two cases of diabetes complication were reported. Males (159, 60.7%) and those in 1-5 years group (89, 34%) were the majority. The mean age was 55.2±13.2 (SD) years, while the mean diabetes duration was 9.9±7.8 (SD) years. A slight majority were hypertensive (138, 52.7%), with mortality reported in five patients (1.9%). Acute complications accounted for 47.3% of the reported cases, with hyperglycaemia being the most common (71, 27.1%). Microvascular complications were more common than macrovascular complications (47.8% vs. 19.6%).
Conclusions: More efforts focused on education programmes and early diagnosis through mass population screening, good glycaemic control, proper lifestyle modification through dieting and engaging in physical activity can forestall or reduce complications. Furthermore, government should seek ways to subsidize diabetes medication and make it affordable to the less privileged.