Infection in hospitalized diabetics

BACKGROUND: To analyse the infectious diseases of inpatient diabetics in a general hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We selected retrospectively 233 records of diabetics admitted during September, October and November 1990. There were 38 (16.3%) patients with infection, age 58.9 +/- 15.3 years, 29 (76.3%) were female, duration of diabetes were 10.8 +/- 9.1 years and 86.3% (n = 33) were possibly DM type II. RESULTS: Peripheral macrovascular disease was the main cause of admission (42%). Forty infectious processes were analysed (two patients had two sites of infection). Cultures were performed in 77.5% of the cases and no microorganism predominated, even when different sites of infection were analysed. Urinary tract infection were the most frequent one (55%, n = 22), and 86.4% (n = 19) of them were observed in female. Pulmonary infections accounted for 71.4% of the cases of sepsis which occurred in 18.4% (n = 7) of our population. All patients with sepsis died. CONCLUSION: Considering infections a worsening factor for diabetic patients we could conclude that it is important to perform some prophylatic measures to avoid them.