Diabetic ketoacidosis in Saudi Arabia: factors precipitating initial admission and readmission

BACKGROUND: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), primarily type 1 DM. To our knowledge, only one study explored DKA readmission rates in Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVES: Identify and analyze precipitating factors for DKA admission and readmission. DESIGN: Medical record review. SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified all patients aged 15 years and older admitted with DKA from 2018 to 2020. Descriptive factors and uni-and multivariate analyses are presented for associations with initial admission and readmission. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Relationships between precipitating factors and initial admission and readmission. SAMPLE SIZE: 176 patients. RESULTS: Most of the patients had type 1 DM (n=157). The median (interquartile percentiles) for duration of DM was 6.0 (1.0-12.0) years. The mean (SD) HbA1C (%) was 11.8 (2.6). The factors that precipitated DKA were most commonly treatment nonadherence (55.1%), followed by infections (31.8%) and nonadherence to diet (25.6%). The most common symptoms were nausea and vomiting (87.5%), followed by abdominal pain (72.7%). During the study period, 32.4% of the sample were read-mitted with DKA. The median (interquartile range) duration between the first and second admission was 12 (4-25) weeks. In the multivariate analysis, increased odds of readmission for DKA were associated with type 1 DM and medication nonadherence (P=.038, P=.013, respectively). The severity of the initial DKA and the control of DM were not associated with the readmission rate. CONCLUSION: Treatment nonadherence is the leading precipitating factor of DKA in our region. Patient education and counseling play a major role in addressing this preventable complication and its medical and financial burden. We advocate more efforts dedicated toward patient education and logistic support. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective-single center. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.