<b>Brief communication</b>: Patterns of chronic complications of diabetic patients in Menelik II Hospital, Ethiopia

Abstract

A total of 283 diabetic patients (112 type -1 and the rest Type -2) were followed between September 1996 and July 1997 at the diabetic follow-up clinic of Menelik II Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The subjects were studied for evidence of chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. One hundred and six patients (37.45%) were found to have chronic complications (33% of Type -1 and 16.9% of Type -2) with diabetic nephropathy showing significant difference between Type -1 and Type -2 patients (P<0.002). Retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy were seen in 31.4% and 35.2% of the subjects, respectively. Fifty nine of 106 diabetics with chronic complications were diabetics for more than 10 years. Macrovascular complications occurred in 3.4% of patients of which 1.7% had cerebrovascular accident. Over seventy five percent of patients with chronic complication had poor control of fasting blood sugar (FBS). Improvement of standard of care of diabetic patients is mandatory to have good control of blood sugar to reduce the development of chronic complications of diabetes mellitus.


(Ethiopian Journal of Health Development: 2000, 14(1): 113-116)