Screening system for the detection of unknown or poorly controlled diabetes mellitus in a tertiary hospital: A retrospective study

Abstract

AbstractRationaleHospitalization may be a valuable chance for the detection of unknown and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM). There is a screening tool at our hospital: in case of high inpatient plasma glucose level, an A1c value is added if no available from the last 3 months.Aims and ObjectivesOur objective was to analyse the population with A1c ≥ 9% detected through this system from 2021 to 2023.Materials and MethodsA retrospective study was performed. Three thousand five hundred seventy‐two patients were screened. We studied 243 patients with A1c ≥ 9%.ResultsFourty‐eight patients (19.8%) had unknown DM. The Endocrinology department was consulted in 39 cases (16%). In most of the cases (51%), there was not a mention in the discharge report, nor changes in the usual treatment (65.4%). Ninety patients (37%) improved A1c. Most of the ones that improved (58.9%) had a correct follow‐up, compared with those who did not (23.5%) (p < 0.01).ConclusionsMeasurement of A1c during hospitalization can help us to diagnose unknown or poorly controlled DM. Therapeutic inertia and delayed diagnosis are two problems associated to DM that are confirmed by our data.