Assessment of disease severity and risk factors of diabetic ketoacidosis in diabetic patients in Khorramabad Shohada Ashayer hospital

Diabetic ketoacidosis is an acute complication of diabetes, and a medical emergency that is usually seen in type I diabetic patients. No manifestation of type I diabetes is sometimes diagnosed, particularly in children, and the disorder is accompanied by insulin deficiency, reduced size, and altered mental status. This descriptive epidemiological study included all the diabetic patients with diabetic ketoacidosis who had been hospitalized in Shohada hospital from June 2009 to June 2013. The records of the patients were studied and the necessary data were extracted considering the specified criteria. The data were then recorded in a questionnaire. Thirty-eight cases with diabetic ketoacidosis were found in the hospital records. Most of the infected cases were female, and the complications was more prevalent in the age groups of 9-10 and 20-29 years. Discontinuation of insulin was the single most frequent predisposing factor. Most of the cases were severe, mostly in the females. The patients and their familie's unawareness of the acute symptoms of the disease, and refusal of treatment, which led to the discontinuation of insulin use, were the probable causes of the severity of the disease in our study population.