Hospitalization patterns of diabetic patients to a tertiary hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background: Hospitalization occurs more often in diabetic than non-diabetic patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Data on these issues are limited in the Middle East, particularly in new nations suffering from a high prevalence of diabetes. Objectives: We studied the contribution of diabetes to the hospital admission rates and evaluated the database- documented causes and outcomes of hospitalization of people with diabetes in a tertiary hospital. Methods and Patients: This was a descriptive, retrospective, electronic records-based study. We identified 14,032 episodes accounted for by diabetes (i.e. 19.1% of the total 51,169 episodes) between 2000-06. Results: 19.1% of admission episodes involved diabetes with an ascending linear trend. The median length of stay was five and four days for diabetes as a primary diagnosis and as a secondary diagnosis respectively. Diabetes as a primary diagnosis was noted in 1,227 patients. The mean age was 42.5 years, and majority were in the 50-70 years age group. Most patients were admitted from the emergency room (71%). Reason for admission was attributed to diabetes per se in >50%, and the majority were discharged home in good condition. On the other hand, diabetes was present as a secondary diagnosis in 8,540 patients (3,494 women and 2,794 Emirati nationals). The mean age of this subgroup was 58.4 years with majority being 41-80 years old. These patients were admitted either as a medical emergency (70%) or directly from home (27%). Patients were admitted under internal medicine (36%), cardiology (27%) and haematology (21%) services. The majority (91%) were discharged home in good condition. A total of 353 patients died while hospitalized (23 with diabetes as a primary diagnosis and 330 when it was a secondary diagnosis respectively. The age at death was 68.8 and 65.4 years in the two subgroups respectively. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that diabetes is associated with a high number of inpatient episodes. These involved mainly middle-aged adults due to medical and cardiovascular complications of diabetes, and poses a high burden on both health care and the economy.