RESUMO
Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis [DKA] is a complication of Diabetes mellitus [DM] that lingers to have high rates of morbidity and mortality regardless of advances in the management of DM. DKA mainly results from insulin deficiency from new-onset diabetes, insulin noncompliance and increased insulin need because of infection. Most persons with DKA have type 1 diabetes however, a subgroup of type 2 diabetes patients might as well have ketosis-prone diabetes
Aim of the work: To assess the level of awareness of the risk factors of DKA as well as the adherence of DM patients with drugs
Methods: This is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study enrolling a total of 100 randomly selected diabetic Saudi adults ensuring diversity in age range and educational stages. Descriptive analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS] 23. Awareness levels for DKA were calculated as absolute frequencies and were reported as overall percentages
Results: A total of 100 randomly selected diabetic Saudi adults [81 females and 19 males], 56% were diagnosed with DM-1 while 44% had DM-2 and only 11% were active sport practitioners. Moreover, only 62% reported a robust adherence to DM medications. The majority of the respondent scored low knowledge on DKA [54%]. Regarding awareness of predisposing risk factors: 9% and 29% of the participants have related DKA to infection and febrile illness respectively. While, 50% of them suggested that there was an association between physical stress and DKA
Conclusion: Our results revealed a compelling need to bridge the disparity in awareness of DKA among Saudi adults with both types. The current knowledge gap doesn't only incur a significant cost burden on the patients and their sponsors because of the high cost treatment and rehabilitation but also and more severely the complications that can be life-threatening if not spotted and treated quickly