Diabetic Ketoacidosis Treatment Outcome and Associated Factors Among Adult Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department and Medical Wards at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening condition with high morbidity and mortality rates. It should be diagnosed immediately and managed intensively to prevent its significant complications. Objectives The aim of this study to assess DKA treatment outcome and associated factors among adult patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City Emergency Department and Medical Wards, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using a chart review to assess DKA treatment outcome and associated factors. All patients who were admitted as DKA cases from September 2017 to August 2019 were selected by simple random sampling except those with incomplete charts or younger than 14 years. Data were entered and analyzed using SAS Version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Results A total of 223 reviewed charts were collected. The frequency of DKA recurrence in most of the patients was once per year (126 [56.5%]). The most common precipitating factor was inappropriate insulin therapy (104 [46.64%]). More than half of the patients (120 [53.81%]) got out of DKA management protocol within 24-72 hours with a hospital stay of less than or equal to five days. The mortality rate was 1.83%. Patients with two or more DKA episodes per year tended to be admitted to ICU more frequently than those with one episode (p=0.001). It was found that patients who had a duration of one to five years of diabetes mellitus were almost five times more likely to get out of DKA in more than 72 hours when compared with those who had a duration of more than five years (adjusted OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 1.34-16.60; p=0.01). Conclusions The findings of this study highlight that majority of DKA patients showed improvement and discharged with a very low mortality rate. Inappropriate insulin therapy was the most common precipitating factor; thus, educating diabetic patients about the complications of treatment non-compliance is an important part of management.