Characterization of diabetic patients undergoing dialysis at Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paúl, in Medellín, Colombia

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the main causes of renal insufficiency. However, very few Latin American and Colombian studies on the subject have been published. Dialyzed diabetic patients suffer from complications more frequently than their non-diabetic counterparts. Besides, many complications associated with DM are already present before the beginning of dialysis.

PURPOSE: To characterize diabetic patients undergoing dialysis at an university hospital in Medellín, Colombia.

METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out including all patients registered in the dialysis program on May 31, 2003 at the Renal Unit of Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paúl. A semistructured questionnaire was used to collect clinical and laboratory information from the patient´s records.

RESULTS: Out of 396 dialysis patients, 102 (25.7%) had the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy which, in 15.3% of them, had been made less than five years before the beginning of this study. Two hundred and eighteen patients were on hemodialysis and 178, on peritoneal dialysis; 65 of the former (29.8%) and 37 of the latter (20.8%) were diabetic. Complete information was obtained from 64 and 34, respectively, for a total of 98 patients (57 men [58.2%] and 41 women [41.8%]). Their average time on dialysis was 1.53 years. DM type 2 was diagnosed in 88 patients (89.8%).