Hospital referrals of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia due to defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or a combination of both; genetic factors and changes in dietary patterns are involved in its presentation. Objective: to describe the behavior of patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the Chimbacalle Type C Health Center in the canton of Quito, province of Pichincha, Ecuador. Method: an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out at the Chimbacalle Type C Health Center in the canton of Quito, province of Pichincha, belonging to the country of Ecuador, in the period between June and December 2020. The use of antidiabetic medications was characterized through an interview with the patients, a review of their medical records and the analysis of the database that the Health Center has for patients with type 2 DM. Results: 70 % of the patients studied presented complications of type 2 DM (90 patients), in which acute complications predominated with 87, 8 % compared to chronic complications with 12, 2 %. That is, only 25 % (30 patients) did not present complications. Conclusions: the hospital referrals that occur at the Chimbacalle Type C Health Center in the canton of Quito, in type 2 diabetic patients, depend on the complications they present, followed by problems related to medications and inadequate clinical control.