Audit of diabetes mellitus among patients attending an employee health clinic at a tertiary care centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical practices in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as a basis for establishing a guideline that focuses on risk factors and complications. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective audit of the medical records of 450 patients (aged 20–65 years) diagnosed with T2DM attending an employee health clinic at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) during the period from 1 January to 1 July 2016. All patients requiring emergency treatment were excluded. A checklist of demographic variables, co-morbidities, clinical examinations, and laboratory investigations was used for collecting data. RESULTS: In total, 303 (67.3%) were women and 312 (69.3%) were Saudis. Forty-five (10%) patients were not receiving current treatment for diabetes and body mass index was not calculated for 117 (26%). Retinal and neurological examinations were not performed in 363 (80.7%) and 109 (24.2%) patients, respectively. Cardiovascular and peripheral vascular system examinations were not conducted for 112 (24.9%) and 114 (25.3%) patients, respectively. For laboratory investigations, 2-h glucose tolerance tests and vitamin B12 tests were not performed for 473 (97.1%) and 436 (96.9%) patients, respectively. Moreover, TSH/T4 and eGFR tests were not performed for 220 (48.9%) and 135 patients (30%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that current clinical practice for management of T2DM patients is not comprehensive and that the quality of healthcare should be improved with continuous checking of patient records.