Diabetic Ketoacidosis among Diabetic Patients Admitted in the Department of Medicine of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Diabetic ketoacidosis is one of the most severe acute complications of diabetes mellitus characterised by hyperglycemia, hyperketonemia, and metabolic acidosis. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis can decrease severity, hospital stay, and possible mortality. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis among diabetic patients admitted to the department of medicine of a tertiary care centre. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care centre. Data from 1 March 2022 to 1 December 2022 were collected between 1 January 2023 and 1 February 2023 from the hospital records. The ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee of the same institute (Reference number: 466/2079/80). All the diabetic patients admitted to the Department of Medicine during our study duration were enrolled for the study. Diabetic patients who left against medical advice and those with incomplete data were excluded from the study. Data were collected from the medical record section. Convenience sampling method was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 200 diabetic patients, the prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis was 7 (3.5%) (3.47-3.53, 95% Confidence Interval) among which 1 (14.29%) patients had type I diabetes mellitus and 6 (85.71%) had type II diabetes mellitus patients and the mean HbA1C level was 9.77%. Conclusions: The prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis among diabetes mellitus patients admitted to the department of medicine of a tertiary care centre was found to be higher than in other studies done in similar settings.