Clinical profile of diabetic ketoacidosis in type 2 diabetes patients at a tertiary care centre

Background: The present study was undertaken to analyse the clinical profile of type 2 diabetes patients presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis at the time of presentation, owing to dearth of scientific enquiry into this research query. Methods: The present study was an analytical, cross-sectional study conducted over the period of two years. All the type 2 diabetes patients with diabetic ketoacidosis admitted during the study period constituted the study population, after being subjected to prefixed selection criteria. Detailed clinical history was recorded and thorough physical examination was conducted of all the participants, along with basic relevant blood parameters. Results: Out of the total 60 type 2 DM patients with DKA studied, 53.3% patients belonged to 51 to 60 years age group and 55% were males. All the patients had fruity breath odour at the presentation. Obesity was present in 48.3% and Kussmaul breathing observed in 90% of patients. Poor compliance to treatment (51.7%) was the biggest precipitating factor of DKA in type 2 DM patients. Around 2/3rd (68.3%) was on oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA), 10% were on OHA and insulin, while 21.7% were newly diagnosed at the time of presentation. Mean RBS in type 2 DM patients with DKA was 510.8±153.5 mg/dl and mean HbA1C was 9.15±0.78%. Conclusions: Stricter compliance to the treatment will go a long way in avoiding occurrence of the dreaded complication in type 2 diabetes patients.